wiWMWBWwwwwiBawMaaisag^^ 


ssmmmmmmmmmtimmmmmmi 


Digitized  by  the  Internet  Archive 

in  2008  with  funding  from 

IVIicrosoft  Corporation 


http://www.archive.org/details/animalsymbolismiOOevanrich 


ANIMAL  SYMBOLISM 
IN  ECCLESIASTICAL 
ARC  HITECTURE 


ANIMAL  SYMBOLISM 
IN  ECCLESIASTICAL 
ARCHITECTURE 


By   E.   p.   EVANS 


IVirH  A  BIBLIOGRAPHY  AND  SErENrr-EIGHT 
ILLUSTRATIONS 


NEW  YORK 

HENRY   HOLT   &   COMPANY 

MDCCCXCVI 


n 


^'1 


o 


fy 


Ali  Tights  te  serve  J 


CONTENTS 


INTRODUCTION         p.    I 

CHAPTER    I 

ALLEGORICAL  AND   ANAGOGICAL   INTERPRETATIONS   OF 
NATURE 

Impulse  given  to  the  study  of  natural  history  by  Alexander 
the  Great — Scientific  spirit  fostered  by  Aristotle — Lack 
of  this  spirit  among  the  Romans — Alexandria  as  a  centre 
of  learning  under  the  Ptolemies— The  Christian  theory  of 
the  relation  of  the  Book  of  Revelation  to  the  Book  of 
Nature — The  patristic  conception  of  the  visible  creation 
as  an  image  of  the  invisible  world  and  a  mirror  of  spiritual 
truth — Animals  as  religious  emblems  in  Oriental,  and 
especially  in  Buddhistic,  literature — Mineralogical  sym- 
bolism— Magical  and  medical  properties  and  religious 
significance  of  precious  stones — Legends  of  Solomon's 
wisdom,  and  his  method  of  building  the  Temple — Cere- 
mony of  blessing  jewels — Speculations  of  Justinus  Kerner 
and  Schubert  concerning  the  occult  affinities  of  the  mineral 
kingdom  to  man — The  typology  of  precious  stones  accord- 
ing to  the  Physiologus — Spiritual  meaning  of  the  diamond, 
the  pearl,  and  the  Indian  stone — Terrobuli  in  Christian 
symbolism  and  architecture p.2\ 

CHAPTER   II 

ORIGIN  AND   HISTORY  OF  THE   '  PHYSIOLOGUS  ' 

Plastic  and  pictorial  representations  of  animals  in  Christian 
art — Literary  sources  of  these  representations — Clavis  of 


.•^9538 


vi  Contents 

St.  Melito — Epistle  of  Barnabas — The  Physiologus  com- 
piled by  an  Alexandrian  Greek — The  Hexahemera  of  the 
Fathers — Adam  as  the  author  of  a  natural  history — 
Popular  character  of  the  Physiologus — Origen  as  an 
exegetist — Roger  Bacon's  views  of  the  place  of  animals 
in  Scripture — Expositions  and  amplifications  of  the  Phy- 
siologus by  Epiphanius,  St.  Isidore,  Petrus  Damiani,  and 
others — Anastasius  Sinaita's  Anagogical  Contemplations 
— Latin  poem  on  beasts  and  their  mystical  meaning  by 
Theobald  of  Plaisance,  and  the  English  paraphrase — 
The  Physiologus  translated  into  Latin,  Ethiopic,  Arabic, 
Armenian,  Syriac,  Anglo-Saxon,  Icelandic,  and  all  the 
principal  modern  languages  of  Europe — Brief  descrip- 
tions of  these  versions — Prudentius'  poems  Hamartigenia 
and  Psychomachia — The  phcenix  a  symbol  of  solar 
worship  used  to  illustrate  the  Christian  doctrine  of  the 
Resurrection — French  bestiaries  :  Philippe  de  Thaun's 
Le  Livre  des  Creatures,  Peter  of  Picardy's  prose  version 
of  the  Physiologus,  and  Le  Bestiaire  Diviit  of  William,  a 
priest  of  Normandy — Encyclopaedias  of  natural  history 
based  on  the  Physiologus :  Thomas  de  Cantimprd's 
Liber  de  Naturis  Rerum,  the  Speculum  Naturale  of 
Vincent  de  Beauvais,  Liber  de  Propj-ietatibus  Renim  of 
Bartholomseus  Anglicus,  Hortus  Deliciarum  of  Herrade 
de  Landsberg,  and  other  compilations — The  church 
-  edifice  an  emblem  of  the  human  soul — Symbolism  of  the 
raven  and  the  dove — Albertus  Magnus'  criticism  of  the 
Physiologus p.  52 


CHAPTER   III 

THE  'physiologus'  IN  ART  AND   LITERATURE 

The  three  characteristics  of  the  lion— Representations  of  the 

lion  as  a  symbol  of  the  Resurrection  in  architecture — 

Beasts  often  have  a  twofold  signification — The  lion  and 

bear  as  types  of  Satan— Diabolification  of  the   dog — 


Contents  vii 

Strange  misconception  of  the  canine  character — Lions  as 
pedestals — Metaphorical  use  of  the  lion  in  poetry — Th? 
lizard  in  architecture — Artistic  delineations  of  the  unicorn 
as  a  type  of  Christ's  Incarnation — Auricular  conception  of 
Christ  as  the  Logos — Supposed  anti-toxical  virtue  of  the 
unicorn's  horn  and  that  of  the  African  viper — The  unicorn 
in  legend  and  poetry — Characteristics  of  the  elephant — 
Symbol  of  the  fall  of  man — Julius  Caesar's  queer  account 
of  the  elk — Elephants  embroidered  on  chasubles — Four 
characteristics  of  the  serpent — Artistic  and  poetic  uses 
of  its  fabled  attributes — The  eagle  as  a  symbol  of 
spiritual  aspiration  and  baptismal  regeneration — Allu- 
sions to  it  by  Dante  and  other  poets — The  fish  in  sacred 
iconology — Significance  of  the  whale  in  ecclesiastical 
architecture — Symbolism  of  the  remora  and  serra — Im- 
portance of  the  phoenix  and  the  pelican  as  emblems  of 
Christian  doctrine — Their  prominent  place  in  Church 
architecture — Import  of  the  fabulous  exploits  of  the  otter 
and  the  ichneumon — Panther  and  dragon  typical  of 
Christ  and  Belial — Healing  power  of  the  "  heavenly 
panther" — Lesson  of  self-renunciation  taught  by  the 
beaver — Characteristic  of  the  hyena — Symbolism  of  the 
salamander — The  partridge  a  type  of  the  devil — Ex- 
amples of  the  charadrius  in  art — Mystical  meaning  of  the 
crow,  turtle-dove,  ousel,  merl,  fulica,  and  hoopoe — Curious 
statement  of  Luther  concerning  swallows — Why  God 
feeds  the  young  ravens — Peculiarities  of  the  wolf — The 
Physiologtis  condemned  as  heretical — Freely  used  by 
Gregory  the  Great  in  his  scriptural  exposition — Virtues 
and  vices  portrayed  as  women  mounted  on  various 
animals — Disputatious  scholastics  satirized — Tetramorph 
— Gospel  mills — The  ark  of  the  covenant  as  the  triumphal 
chariot  of  the  Cross — Cock  and  clergy — Origin  of  the 
basilisk  and  its  significance — Its  prominence  in  religious 
symbology  and  sacred  architecture — Cautious  scepticism 
of  Albertus  Magnus — The  Physiologus  from  a  psycho- 
logical point  of  view,  as  illustrating  the  credulity  of  the 


viii  Contents 

Fathers  of  the  Church — Why  "the  hart  panteth  after  the 
water-brooks  " — Story  of  the  antelope — Barnacle  geese — 
"  Credo  quia  absurdum  " — Modern  counterparts  of  early 
Christian  apologists  and  exegetists  ^.80 

CHAPTER   IV 

SYMBOLISM   SUPERSEDED   BY  SATIRE 

Excess  of  animal  symbolism  in  sacred  edifices  of  the 
eleventh  and  twelfth  centuries — Earnest  but  fruitless 
protest  of  St.  Bernard — Image-worship  authorized  and  en- 
joined by  the  Council  held  at  Nice  in  787 — Images  not  to 
be  inventions  of  artists,  but  to  be  fashioned  according  to 
ecclesiastical  traditions  and  ecclesiological  prescriptions — 
Views  of  St.  Nilus — Paintings  and  sculptures  for  the 
instruction  of  the  ignorant — Gautier  de  Coinsi  renews  the 
protest  against  "wild  cats  and  lions"  in  the  house  of 
God — Angelus  Rumpler  makes  the  same  complaint — 
Warnings  by  the  Councils  of  Milan  and  Bordeaux — In- 
troductions of  episodes  from  the  beast-epos  with  satirical 
tendencies — Secular  guilds  supplant  religious  orders  as 
architects — Caricature  of  sacred  rites — Fox  preaching 
to  geese  in  St.  Martin's  Church  in  Leicester — Sculptures 
in  Strasburg  Minster — Reliefs  of  the  wolfs  novitiate  in 
Freiburg  Minster — Poem  by  Marie  de  France — Sam- 
son and  the  lion — Provost's  cushion  in  St.  Michael's 
at  Pforzheim — Burlesque  of  Calvin  in  St.  Sernin  at 
Toulouse — Luther  satirized  in  St.  Victor's  Church  at 
Xanten — Foolscap  paper — Origin  and  character  of  the 
Papstesel — Monstrosities  as  portents — Bishop-fish — The 
Papal  Ass  in  religious  polemics — The  Monk-calf  of 
Freiburg  and  its  interpretation — Miniatures  illustrating 
the  "  Woes  of  France  " — The  fox  of  the  Physiologus  and 
of  the  beast-epos — Reliefs  of  the  wiles  of  the  fox  and  the 
woes  of  drunkenness  in  St.  Fiacre — Execution  of  the  cat 
in  the  cathedral  at  Tarragona — Significance  of  the  crane 
extracting  a  bone  from  the  fox's  throat  in  Autun  Cathe- 


Contents  ix 

dral — Burrowing  foxes  types  of  devils  in  Worcester 
Cathedral — Scenes  from  the  Reynardine  and  other  poems 
in  the  church  of  the  Templars,  St.  Denis,  Amiens  Cathe- 
dral, Sherborne  Minster,  and  other  sacred  edifices,  but 
most  fully  represented  in  Bristol  Cathedral  and  Beverly 
Minster — Heraldic  rebuses  and  canting  devices — Satire 
on  the  election  of  a  pope  in  Lincoln  Cathedral — Mendi- 
cant friars  caricatured  as  foxes  in  Ely,  Gloucester, 
Winchester,  and  other  cathedrals — Odo  of  Sherington's 
opinion  of  these  orders — Similar  delineations  in  the 
churches  and  cloisters  of  continental  Europe  :  Kempen, 
Emmerick,  Calcar,  and  Cleves— The  Lay  of  Aristotle 
and  Vergil's  affair  of  gallantry— The  Vision  of  Piers 
Plowman  —  Animals  as  musicians  —  Grotesques,  bur- 
lesques, and  riddles — Funeral  banquet  at  the  burial  of  the 
fox  at  Marienhafen— The  frog  as  a  symbol  of  regenera- 
tion— Carvings  of  individual  fancies  and  conceits  and 
illustrations  of  proverbs — Episodes  from  the  Roman  de 
Renart—MaLXiy  oi  these  sculptures,  especially  in  Northern 
France  and  the  Netherlands,  destroyed  by  iconoclasts 
and  revolutionists P-  178 

CHAPTER  V 

WHIMSEYS  OF  ECCLESIOLOGY^ AND   SYMBOLOGY 

Universality  of  the  symbolism  of  the  cross — Cruciform 
phenomena  in  nature— The  sign  of  the  cross  in  the  Old 
Testament,  and  its  prefigurative  significance— Wonder- 
working power  of  the  cross  in  Jewish  history— Its 
presence  in  the  Garden  of  Eden  and  in  the  Hebrew 
alphabet — The  cosmos  has  the  form  of  a  cross — Influence 
of  the  doctrine  of  the  Trinity  upon  art — Trinitarian 
suggestions  in  the  material  creation — Mystic  meanings 
in  sacred  architecture — Symbolism  of  bells  and  signifi- 
cance of  orientation — Superstitious  regard  for  the  points 
of  the  compass — Transition  from  christolatry  to  hagiolatry 


X  Contents 

— Subtilities  of  ecclesiology — Meagreness  of  Hebrew 
mythology — Exercise  of  the  mythopoeic  faculty  by  the 
Rabbis — Early  Christian  opposition  to  the  theatre — 
Theatrical  rites  and  indecent  amusements  in  churches 
and  cloisters — Feast  of  Fools,  etc. — Analogy  between  the 
anatomy  of  the  ass  and  the  architecture  of  a  cathedral 
— Jewish  and  Christian  reverence  for  the  ass — Feast  of 
the  Ass — Symbolism  swallowed  up  in  buffoonery — Traffic 
in  holy  relics — Satirized  in  Heywood's  play  of  The  Four 
P.P. — Anatomical  peculiarities  of  saints — Queer  freaks 
in  sacred  osteology — Specimens  of  relics  in  Catholic 
churches  —  Miraculous  power  of  self-multiplication  — 
— Choice  collection  of  Frederic  the  Wise — Anti-Semitic 
sculptures  in  Christian  churches — Coarse  relief  ridiculing 
the  Jews  at  Wittenberg,  and  its  interpretation  by  Luther 
— Similar  carvings  in  other  cities — Decrees  of  John  the 
Good  and  Frederic  the  Hohenstaufe  concerning  usury 
— Classical  myths  in  Christian  art — Orpheus  a  prototype 
of  Christ — Bacchus  and  the  Lord's  vineyard — Greek 
comic  poets  adored  as  Christian  saints — I  sis  as  the 
Virgin  Mary — Crude  symbolism  of  early  Christian  art — 
Influence  of  Pagan  antiquity— The  peacock  as  a  Christian 
emblem — Moralization  of  the  myth  of  Argus  and  lo — 
Sirens  and  centaurs  in  architecture— The  Sigurd  Saga 
— Weighing  of  souls — Recording  angels  and  devils — 
Woman  as  an  emissary  of  Satan — The  devil  in  Christian 
art— Dance  of  death — Oldest  representation  of  it — Its 
democratic  character  and  popularity — Manuscripts  with 
miniatures — Holbein's  drawings — Sensational  sermons 
of  Honor^  de  Sainte  Marie — Modern  delineations  of  the 
theme  by  Rethel,  Seitz,  Liihrig,  and  others       ...    p.  246 

BIBLIOGRAPHY A   343 

INDEX       P-  351 


LIST   OF    ILLUSTRATIONS 


PAGE 

Central   Section   of  a  Window   in   the   Cathedral   of 

Bourges    ...         ...         ...         ...         ...   Frontispiece 

Terrobuli.     {Bestiary)       50 

Sculpture  on  Arch  of  Doorway  of  old  Norman  Church 

at  Alne,  Yorkshire         50, 5^ 

Lion  howling  over  Whelps.     {Relief  in  Munich)        ...  82 

Lion  howling  over  Whelps.     {Relief  in  Strasburg)     ...  84 

Capture  of  the  Unicom.     {Bestiary)       95 

Hunting  the  Unicom.     {Old  German  Engraving)     ...  97 

Annunciation.     {Parish  Church  of  Eltenberg)              ...  loo 

Eagle  renewing  its  Youth.     {Bestiary) 117 

Eaglets  gazing  at  the  Sun.     {Cathedral  of  Lyons)      ...  118 

Whale  and  Mariners.    {Psalter  of  Isabella  of  France)  124 

Pelican.     {Bestiary)           ...         128 

Phoenix.     {Bestiary)          129 

Otter    (Water-snake)    and    Crocodile    (Sea-monster). 

{Psalter  of  Isabella  of  France) 133 

Panther  and  Dragon.     {Bestiary)          135 

Beaver.     {Bestiary)           138 

Hyena.     {Bestiary)            142 

Partridge  and  her  FosterHngs.     {Bestiary)       144 

Charadrius.     {Bestiary)    ...         ...         ...         ...         ...  146 

Turtle-doves.     {Psalter  of  Isabella  of  France) 148 

Raven.     {Bestiary)            150 

Wolf.     {Bestiary) 151 

The  Gospel  and  the  Law,     {Hortus  Deliciarum)       ...  155 

Beasts  of  the  Apocalypse.     {Saint-Nizier  of  Troyes)...  157 

Gospel-Mill.     {Abbey  of  Vezelai  in  Burgundy)           ...  159 

Cock  calling  Hens.     {Psalter  of  Isabella  of  France)  ...  162 

Liberality  and  Avarice.  {Manuscript  in  Musee  de  Chmy)  163 

Fighting  the  Basilisk.  {Abbey  oj  Vezelai  in  Burgundy)  165 
Sphinx  subduing  the  Basilisk.     {Abbey  of  Vezelai  in 

Burgundy)           ...         ...         ...         ...         ...         ...  168 


xii  List  of  Illustrations 


Hart  and  Dragon.     {Bestiary) 172 

Antelope.     {Bestiary)        173 

Antelope  on  the  Euphrates.      {Psalter  of  Isabella  of 

France) 174 

Barnacle  Geese.    {Bestiary)        175 

Burial  of  the  Fox.     {Strasburg  Mitister)  189 

Novitiate  of  the  Wolf.     {Freiburg  Minster)     190 

Sea-Bishop.     {Gessner's  Fischbuch)        198 

Papal  Ass.     {Cathedral  of  Co  mo)  201 

Wiles  of  the  Fox.     {Bestiary)      205 

Execution  of  the  Cat.     {Cathedral  of  Tarragona  in 

Spain)       207 

Artifices  of  the  Fox  in  ensnaring  Fowls.     {St.  Fiacre^ 

near  Le  Faouet)  ...         ...     208 

Flaying  the  Fox.     {St.  Fiacre^  near  Le  Faouet)  ...     209 

Cock  and    Hen   drawing    Fox    to    Execution.       {St. 

Ursin,  near  Bruges)      213 

The   "  Lay  of  Aristotle."      {Church  of  Saint-Jean  in 
Lyons)      ...         ...         ...         ...         ...         ...         ...     228 

Carvings  on  Stalls  in  the  Parish   Church  of  Kempen 
(Rhineland) :  Threshing  Eggs — Looking  through  an 
Egg — Feeling  of  a  Hen — Hatching  Eggs — Weeping 
over  a  fallen  Basket  of  Eggs — Eel-pot — Crane  and 
Fox  dining — Fox  preaching  to  Fowls — Dogs  fighting 
for  a  Bone — Fox  swimming  after  Ducks — Ass  with 
Rosary — Casting  Daisies  before  Swine — Ass  playing 
the   Lyre — Pig  playing   the   Bagpipe — Reynard  as 
Confessor  eating  the   Kite  his   Confessant  —  Bear 
eating  Honey — Belling  the  Cat — Shearing  Swine  239-242 
Jolly  Friar  and  Tinker.     {Minorite  Cloister  in  Cleves)     244 
Satire  on  the  Jews.     {Parish  Church  of  Wittenberg) ...     290 
Satire  on  the  Jews.     {Tower  of  Bridge  in  Frankfort)     295 
Pyramus  and  Thisbe.     {Cathedral  of  Bale)      ...         304,305 

Peacocks.     {Psalter  of  Isabella  of  France)        311 

Myth  of  Argus.     {Bestiary)  314 

Sirens.     {Psalter  of  Isabella  of  France)  314 

Siren  presenting  a  Fish  to  a  Man.     {Church  at  Cunault- 

sur-Loire)  316 

Siegfried  (Sigurd)  Saga.     (CV  thedral  of  Freising,  near 

Munich).  Four  views  of  the  pillar  in  the  crypt  322-325 
Sigurd  Saga.  {Church  of  Hyllestad in  Norway)  326,  327 
Weighing  Souls.     {Cathedral  of  Bourges)        329 


ANIMAL    SYMBOLISM    IN 
ECCLESIASTICAL   ARCHITECTURE 

INTRODUCTION 

One  of  the  most  charming  passages  in  the  idyls 
of  Theocritus  is  that  in  which  Eros  complains  to 
Aphrodite  of  the  bees  that  stung  his  hand  as  he 
was  stealing  honey  from  their  hive,  and  expresses 
his  astonishment  that  such  very  small  creatures  could 
cause  so  severe  pain.  Thereupon  the  Cyprian  god- 
dess laughingly  replies  :  "  Thou  too  art  like  the  bee, 
for  although  a  tiny  child,  yet  how  terrible  are  the 
wounds  thou  dost  inflict."  This  witty  retort  and 
pat  allusion  to  the  pangs  produced  by  the  arrows 
from  Cupid's  quiver  greatly  pleased  the  fancy  of 
the  elder  Lucas  Cranach,  who  depicted  the  scene 
in  no  less  than  five  different  paintings,  the  most 
celebrated  of  which  is  now  in  the  Royal  Museum 
of  Berlin.  The  same  conceit  was  embodied,  at  a 
still  earlier  period,  in  one  of  the  poems  of  Anacreon, 
who,  however,  represents  Eros  as  having  been  stung 
while  plucking  a  rose  in  which  a  bee  was  sleeping. 
A  Spanish  poet  of  the  seventeenth  century,  Estevan 

B 


Animal   Symbolism 


Manuel  de  Villegas,  famous  in  Old  Castile  as  the 
translator  and  imitator  of  Anacreon,  gives  in  Las 
Eroticas  a  vivid  description  of  a  duel  between  Amor 
and  a  bee,  the  two  ravishers  of  hearts  and  flowers. 
The  combat  ended  with  the  painful  wounding  of 
the  god  and  the  death  of  the  insect,  and  thus 
ravaged  hearts  and  pillaged  flowers  were  both 
avenged.  In  a  madrigal  of  the  Roman  "  Arcadian," 
Felice  Zappi,  Cupids  swarm  like  bees  round  the 
head  of  the  loved  one,  clinging  to  her  hair,  nestling 
in  her  bosom,  gathering  honey  from  her  lips,  and 
waving  their  torches  out  of  her  eyes.  In  his  charm- 
ing lyric  Die  Bieiie,  Lessing  gives  a  didactic  turn 
to  Anacreon's  poem  already  referred  to,  and  makes 
Amor  learn  a  lesson  of  strategy  from  his  misfor- 
tune :  henceforth  he  was  wont  to  lurk  in  roses  and 
violets,  and,  when  a  maiden  came  to  pluck  them, 
"  flew  forth  as  a  bee  and  stung."  A  kiss  is  also 
personified  as  a  bee,  which  extracts  honey  from  the 
lips,  and,  at  the  same  time,  pierces  the  heart  with 
its  sting. 

Curiously  enough  this  simple,  sensuous,  and 
suggestive  imagery,  which  plays  such  a  prominent 
part  in  Greek,  and  especially  in  Oriental,  erotics,  is 
wholly  foreign  to  those  of  the  Germanic  and 
Slavonic  races ;  it  is  not  native  to  the  poetry  of 
these  nations,  and  blooms  in  their  literature  only 
as  an  exotic.  For  the  delineation  of  the  tender 
passion  they  preferred  a  symbolism  drawn  from 
the  vegetable  kingdom,  and  the  real  or  fictitious 
qualities    of    fruits   and    flowers ;    the   apple,    the 


In    Ecclesiastical    Architecture  3 

peach,   the   fig,    the   rose,  the   lily,  the   narcissus, 
the  anemone,  the  violet,  and  the  pink  are  used  to 
illustrate  the  attractions  of  female  beauty  and  the 
attributes  of  connubial  love.     Into  Germany,  whose 
pagan  tribes  seem  to  have  been  acquainted    with 
bees,  chiefly  if  not  exclusiv^ely  in  their  wild  state, 
the  art  of  rearing  these  insects  was  introduced  with 
Christianity,  and  carried  on  for  the  most  part  by 
the  various  monastic  orders.     There  was  hardly  a 
cloister  without  its  hive,  which  not  only  supplied 
honey  and  wax  for  culinary  and  cultic  purposes, 
but  also  served  as  an  example  to  the  friars  of  an 
ideal    life  of  communistic  industry  and   cenobitic 
chastity.     The  superiors  of  the  convents  were  fond 
of  emphasizing  this  analogy  in  their  exhortations  to 
the  recluses  under  their  charge,  and  of  enforcing  it 
in  their  religious  poetry.     Peter  of  Capua  calls  the 
risen    and  ascended  Saviour  "apis  aetherea";  the 
saints  famous  for  good  works  are  compared  to  bees ; 
eloquent  Fathers  of  the  Church  and  expounders  of 
the  faith — Chrysostom,  Ambrose,  Isidore  of  Spain, 
and  Bernard  of  Clairvaux — are  said  to  have  lips 
flowing   with   honey   {inelliflwis) ;    and   the  virgin 
queen  of  the  hive  is,  in  the  hymns  of  mediaeval 
mariolaters,  a  favourite  type  of  the  Virgin  Queen 
of  Heaven.     But  notwithstanding  the  frequency  of 
these   allusions    in    Christian    literature,    and    the 
consecration  of  honey  and  wax  to  ritual  purposes, 
the  bee  figures  rarely  in  Christian  art.     It  is  found 
occasionally  carved  on  tombs  in  the  catacombs  as 
a  symbol  of  immortality ;  in  this  case,  however,  it 


Animal  Symbolism 


does  not  express  a  specifically  Christian  conception, 
but  is  a  survival  of  paganism.  In  ancient  times 
honey  was  supposed  to  be  an  effective  antiseptic, 
and  it  was  customary  to  smear  with  it  the  bodies 
of  the  dead  in  order  to  preserve  them  from  putre- 
faction. Alexander  the  Great  is  said  to  have  been 
thus  embalmed,  and  the  same  usage  formed  an 
integral  part  of  the  Mithras-cult,  and  can  be  traced 
still  farther  back  to  the  solar  worship  of  the 
Assyrians  and  Babylonians.  Under  the  Roman 
empire  the  mysteries  of  the  Mithras-cult  became 
widely  diffused  throughout  Western  Europe ; 
Christian  churches  were  erected  over  altars  dedi- 
cated to  the  old  Persian  sun-god,  as  in  S.  Clemente 
at  Rome,  and  the  gilded  bull's  head  and  three 
hundred  golden  bees,  discovered  at  Tournay  in 
1653,  in  the  tomb  of  the  Merovingian  king, 
Childeric  III.,  had  their  origin  in  the  same  system 
of  worship.  These  bees,  which  decorated  the  royal 
mantle  of  the  living  monarch,  and  embellished  his 
shroud  after  death,  were  invested  with  a  traditional 
sacredness  in  France  as  emblems  of  sovereignty,  and 
therefore  adopted  by  the  first  Napoleon,  in  order  to 
give  a  seeming  shimmer  of  ancient  lustre  to  an 
upstart  dynasty. 

Christ,  as  we  have  seen,  was  called  the  "  aethereal 
bee,"  and  it  is  an  interesting  coincidence  that 
Vishnu,  incarnate  in  the  form  of  Krishna,  should 
be  represented  with  a  blue  bee  hovering  over  his 
head  as  a  symbol  of  the  aether.  It  is  not  probable 
that  this  similarity  is  to  be  explained  on  the  theory 


In    Ecclesiastical    Architecture  5 

of  an  historical  transmission  of  ideas,  or  that  there 
is  any  genetic  connection  between  these  conceptions, 
except  so  far  as  they  might  grow  naturally  and 
independently  out  of  the  solar  character  of  both 
religions.  There  is  no  doubt,  however,  that  the 
Orient  is  the  chief  source  of  our  symbolisms,  which 
in  migrating  westward  have  undergone  such  a 
variety  of  transformations  and  adaptations  as  in 
many  cases  greatly  to  obscure  their  original  signifi- 
cance. In  the  BriJiat'Kathd-Sarit-Sdgara  ("  Great 
Ocean  of  the  Rivers  of  Stories  ")  of  Somadeva,  there 
is  the  tale  of  a  traveller,  who  fell  asleep  on  a  forest 
tree,  and  when  he  awoke  saw  a  tiger  lying  in  wait 
for  him  below,  and  an  enormous  serpent  coiled 
above  his  head  and  ready  to  spring  upon  him. 
At  the  same  time  he  discovered  on  a  branch  by  his 
side  some  drops  of  honey  from  a  swarm  of  bees  in 
the  hollow  trunk,  and  in  the  enjoyment  of  its 
sweetness  forgot  all  about  the  perils  by  which  he 
was  surrounded.  Long  before  the  age  of  Soma- 
deva this  allegory  of  human  life  was  current  in 
India,  whence  it  passed  into  the  legendary  litera- 
ture of  Europe,  subject  to  the  modifications  of  an 
Occidental  environment  (for  example  in  Jacobus 
de  Voragine's  Lcgenda  Ajirea,  and  the  Barlaam 
tind  Josaphat  of  Rudolf  von  Ems),  and  is  the  theme 
of  an  elaborate  bas-relief  on  the  south  door  of  the 
baptistery  of  Parma,  where  we  see  a  man  sitting 
on  the  limb  of  a  tree  eagerly  eating  the  honey  that 
trickles  from  the  leaves ;  at  the  foot  of  the  tree  is 
a  dragon,  and  gnawing  at  its  roots  are  two  mice, 


Animal   SyiTibolism 


white  and  black,  symbols  of  day  and  night,  the 
chief  divisions  of  all-devouring  time,  which  ulti- 
mately cause  every  tree  of  life  to  fall.  M.  Henri 
Gaidoz  has  shown  by  strongly  presumptive,  if  not 
wholly  conclusive,  evidence,  that  the  Virgin  of  the 
Seven  Swords  is  a  Christian  appropriation  and 
adaptation  of  the  Babylonian-Assyrian  war-goddess 
Istar,  who  is  represented  on  ancient  monuments 
with  seven  darts  in  her  shoulders,  so  arranged  as  to 
form  with  their  shafts  a  halo  encircling  her  head. 
Pictures  of  this  goddess,  brought  by  mediaeval 
Italian  merchants  from  the  East,  were  supposed  to 
refer  to  the  Virgin  Mary,  and  to  the  fulfilment  of 
the  prophecy  of  Simeon  that  a  sword  should  pierce 
through  her  soul ;  and  it  was  not  until  the  fifteenth 
century  that  it  was  slightly  modified  to  suit  the 
Gospel  record,  and  received  a  permanent  place  in 
Christian  iconography.  The  existence  of  a  revered 
image  of  the  Holy  Virgin  in  remote  regions  of  the 
East  was  easily  accounted  for  by  the  clergy,  like 
many  other  startling  resemblances  in  religious  rites 
and  symbols,  as  the  marvellous  and  quite  miraculous 
results  of  the  mythical  mission  of  the  apostle 
Thomas. 

Indeed,  nothing  was  more  common  in  the  middle 
ages  than  this  Christianization  of  pagan  deities. 
Thus  the  eagle  as  an  emblem  of  Jupiter  caused  the 
son  of  Kronos  and  sovereign  of  Olympus  to  be 
mistaken  for  John  the  Evangelist ;  Poseidon  and 
Pallas  were  regarded  as  Adam  and  Eve ;  Hercules 
with  his  club  passed  for  Samson  with  the  jawbone 


In    Ecclesiastical    Architecture  7 

of  an  ass ;  and  representations  of  Venus  were 
ingeniously  construed  into  those  of  the  Virgin 
Mary.  Under  the  influence  of  the  Renaissance 
the  newly-awakened  aesthetic  sense  proved  strong 
enough  to  overrule  the  scruples  of  religious  senti- 
ment, and  the  monuments  of  classical  antiquity 
became  models  for  imitation  in  the  productions  of 
Christian  art.  We  have  a  striking  example  of  this 
tendency  in  a  marble  relief  of  the  Assumption  of 
the  Virgin,  which  belonged  originally  to  Saint- 
Jacques-la-Boucherie,  and  is  now  in  the  abbatial 
church  of  Saint- Denis,  Her  graceful  figure  is 
almost  wholly  nude,  and  resembles  Venus  rising 
from  the  sea  rather  than  the  Virgin  Mary  ascend- 
ing into  heaven ;  she  folds  her  hands  in  the 
attitude  of  prayer,  and  stands  with  one  foot  on  a 
cloud  and  the  other  on  the  head  of  a  cherub,  while 
four  pagan  genii  as  angels  accompany  her,  playing 
on  musical  instruments. 

It  was  in  the  Orient,  too,  that  mythical  and 
symbolical  zoology,  as  the  natural  outgrowth  of 
the  doctrine  of  metempsychosis,  attained  its  most 
exuberant  development.  The  monstrosities  of 
Indian,  Assyrian,  Egyptian,  and  archaic  Greek 
art,  sphinxes,  centaurs,  minotaurs,  human-headed 
bulls,  lion-headed  kings,  horse-headed  goddesses, 
and  sparrow-headed  gods,  are  all  the  plastic  em- 
bodiments of  this  metaphysical  tenet.  The  same 
notion  finds  expression  in  heraldry,  where  real 
and  fabulous  animals  are  blazoned  in  whimsical 
devices  on  coats-of-arms  and  ensigns  as  emblems 


8  Animal  Symbolism 


of  qualities  supposed  to  be  peculiar  to  individuals- 
or  hereditary  in  families.  The  man  adorned  his 
escutcheon  with  the  bird  or  the  beast  which  he 
was  proud  of  resembling  or  wished  to  rival,  whose 
rapidity  of  flight  he  coveted,  or  whose  ferocity  he 
feared.  By  this  naive  symbolism  the  primitive 
chieftain  thought  to  strike  terror  in  his  foes,  or 
to  strengthen  the  courage  and  confidence  of  his 
friends  and  confederates.  Out  of  the  same  circum- 
stances arose  also  an  uncanny  feeling  of  awe  as 
regards  the  lower  animals,  and  a  superstitious 
dread  of  provoking  their  enmity.  Grimm,  in  his 
exhaustive  discussion  of  this  topic,  has  called 
attention  to  that  early  stage  of  society,  when  the 
ravenous  wolf  and  the  shaggy  bear,  prowling 
through  the  dark  glens  and  sunny  glades  of  the 
interminable  forest,  were  looked  upon,  not  merely 
as  rapacious  brutes,  whose  physical  strength  and 
voracity  were  to  be  feared,  but  rather  as  incar- 
nations of  mysterious  and  malignant  forces  capable 
of  inflicting  injuries  by  occult  and  magical  influ- 
ences, and  therefore  not  to  be  enraged  or  irritated 
in  any  manner.  For  this  reason  they  were  not 
called  by  their  real  names,  but  were  propitiated 
by  flattering  epithets,  such  as  black-foot,  blue- 
foot,  gold-foot,  sweet-foot,  grey-beard,  broad-brow, 
flash-eye,  forest-brother,  and  a  variety  of  similar 
appellations.  The  demon-soul  revealed  itself  in 
the  fierce  glare  of  the  eye  and  the  long,  weird 
howl,  which  broke  like  the  voice  of  an  imprisoned 
fiend    on    the   midnight   air,    as    the    beasts  were 


In    Ecclesiastical    Architecture 


supposed  to  be  holding  conference  concerning  the 
affairs  and  destinies  of  men,  into  which  the  im- 
mense age  many  of  them  were  thought  to  attain 
would  in  itself  give  them  more  than  Rosicrucian 
insight.  This  sacred  and  supernatural  character 
invested  all  their  movements  with  extraordinary 
interest  and  portentous  significance.  They  directed 
the  emigrations  of  tribes,  and  determined  the  places 
in  which  colonies  were  to  be  planted,  watched 
over  the  infancy  of  heroes  and  suckled  the  founders 
of  nations,  indicated  the  sites  of  future  cities, 
showed  where  temples  were  to  be  erected  or 
saints  buried,  and  were  selected  with  the  most 
scrupulous  care  and  circumspection  for  purposes 
of  sacrifice  and  vaticination.  The  presence  or 
sudden  approach  of  certain  quadrupeds  was  an 
omen  of  good  or  evil,  and  auguries  were  drawn 
from  the  movements  or  cries  of  birds.  A  hare 
crossing  the  line  of  march  of  an  army  has  sufficed 
to  fill  the  troops  with  terror,  and  cause  them  to 
flee  in  a  panic.  Among  the  reliefs  in  the  south 
porch  of  the  cathedral  of  Chartres  is  that  of 
a  warrior  dropping  his  sword  and  running  away 
from  this  timid  quadruped.  Finally,  animals  were 
transferred  to  the  sky  and  identified  with  the  con- 
stellations, in  which  form  they  continued  to  look 
down  upon  the  earth  with  auspicious  or  malign 
aspect,  and  to  forecast  the  fate  of  mankind. 

A  natural  consequence  of  this  enigmatical  and 
mystical  relation  of  the  world  of  men  to  the  world 
of  beasts  was  that  the  latter  became   at  a  very 


lo  Animal   Symbolism 

early  period  objects  of  worship  and  mythopoetic 
speculation.  Zoolatry  has  existed  among  all 
nations,  but  this  cult  reached  its  highest  develop- 
ment among  the  Egyptians,  who  adored  a  vast 
Pantheon  of  deified  bulls,  rams,  cats,  mice,  ibises, 
sparrows,  hawks,  crocodiles,  and  a  multitude  of 
mongrel  creations  of  the  imagination.  Even  insects, 
flies,  bees,  beetles,  were  exalted  to  divinities. 
Monstrosities  were  held  in  peculiar  veneration. 
The  union  of  human  bodies  with  the  heads  of 
beasts  or  birds  is  especially  characteristic  of  the 
Egyptian  religion ;  similar  incongruities  are  met 
with  among  the  most  ancient  deities  of  Greece, 
and  were  doubtless  of  Asiatic  origin.  Thus  the 
Arcadian  Demeter  was  represented  with  a  horse's 
head,  and  the  Cretan  Minotaur  with  the  head  of 
a  bull,  not  to  mention  the  hosts  of  gorgons, 
harpies,  centaurs,  tritons,  nereids,  sirens,  and  satyrs 
formed  by  uniting  a  human  head  with  the  body 
of  a  beast  or  bird  or  fish.  The  Greek  alone,  with 
his  superior  aesthetic  sense,  chaste  imagination, 
and  unsurpassable  plastic  skill,  knew  how  to  give 
organic  unity  to  these  heterogeneous  combinations, 
pruning  them  of  excrescences,  purging  them  of 
superfluities,  and  rendering  the  boldest  violations 
of  the  laws  of  nature  beautiful  and  harmonious  as 
works  of  art.  These  hybrid  creatures  of  the  fancy, 
like  the  sphinxes  which  guarded  the  portals  of  the 
temples  of  Thebes,  and  the  colossal  winged  lions 
of  Nineveh  and  Persepolis,  originated  in  the  priestly 
proclivity   to   symbolize  and   to   express  mystical 


In    Ecclesiastical    Architecture        1 1 

ideas  in  material  forms ;  but  their  primitive  crude- 
ness,  refined  and  transmuted  in  the  crucible  of  the 
Hellenic  intellect,  emerged  as  the  pure  gold  of 
artistic  perfection.  As  the  result  of  this  process 
of  transformation  or  evolution,  if  we  may  regard 
symbols  as  species  and  apply  to  them  the  catch- 
word of  modern  science,  the  Greek  embodiments 
of  these  conceptions  have  survived  as  the  fittest 
in  the  struggle  for  existence,  and  secured  a  per- 
manent place  in  the  art  and  literature  of  the 
civilized  world.  The  fact  that  they  are  universally 
accepted  as  "classical  "  is  conclusive  proof  of  their 
absolute  ascendency. 

Alexandria  was  for  several  centuries,  under  the 
Ptolemies  and  the  Roman  prefects,  the  principal 
channel  of  commercial  intercourse  between  the 
East  and  the  West,  and  consequently  the  point 
at  which  Oriental  and  Occidental  ideas  came  into 
constant  contact  and  often  into  sharp  conflict,  but 
by  mutual  concession  and  compromise  gradually 
developed  a  certain  eclecticism  and  syncretism  of 
philosophical  speculations  and  religious  systems. 
Thus  arose  the  so-called  Alexandrian  School,  in 
which  the  achievements  of  Egyptian,  Hellenic,  and 
Hebrew  culture  were  commingled  and  mutually 
supplemented.  Christianity,  however,  was  too 
aggressive  in  its  spirit  and  too  exclusive  in  its 
claims  to  accept  any  compromise,  or  to  enter  into 
any  amicable  modus  vivendi  with  other  cults.  Its 
mission  was  to  put  all  things  under  its  feet,  and  to 
assert  its  universal  supremacy,  and  for  this  reason 


12  Animal    Symbolism 


it  recognized  the  validity  of  older  forms  of  worship 
and  admitted  their  raiso7i  d'etre  only  so  far  as  they 
could  be  shown  to  have  a  specifically  propsedeutic 
relation  to  itself  as  the  only  true  religion.  Partly 
in  application  of  this  principle,  and  partly  as  a 
matter  of  policy  in  order  to  facilitate  its  propaga- 
tion, it  appropriated  so  far  as  possible  the  rites 
and  symbols  and  ancient  traditions  of  antecedent 
religions,  interpreting  them  as  anticipations,  alle- 
gories, prophecies,  and  prefigurations  which  had 
now  been  fully  accomplished  and  thereby  abro- 
gated. Christian  proselytes  of  different  races  were 
eager  and  adept  in  making  all  available  currents  of 
their  ancestral  mythology  tributary  to  the  stream, 
whose  waters  were  for  the  healing  of  the  nations. 
Egyptian  converts,  known  as  Copts  (Copt,  Gyptios, 
Kyptaios,  like  Gypsy,  is  a  corruption  of  Aiy'^irrios), 
found  in  the  sacred  records  of  their  progenitors, 
as  preserved  in  picture-writing  and  plastic  art,  no 
lack  of  ideographic  and  other  symbolical  material 
which  could  be  easily  converted  to  Christian  uses. 
Thus  the  hieroglyphic  sign  -^,  pronounced  onk, 
and  signifying  "life,"  would  be  readily  accepted 
as  an  ansated  cross  t^,  and  naturally  give  rise  to 
the  simpler  form  t^  so  often  represented  on  Coptic 
monuments ;  by  a  slight  change  it  might  be 
metamorphosed  into  the  monogrammatic  name  of 
Christ  )^.  In  like  manner  an  ancient  Coptic  relief 
of  the  Virgin  and  Child,  described  by  M.  Ga}et 
{Les  Mo7t7iments  Copies  dti  Miisce  de  Boulaq, 
Paris,   1889),  and  by  Georg  Ebers  {Sinnbildlkhes, 


In    Ecclesiastical    Architecture        1 3 


Leipzig,  1892),  is  a  servile  imitation  of  the  tradi- 
tional Egyptian  representations  of  Isis  suckling 
Horus.  The  necklace  of  the  Madonna  is  the 
same  as  that  worn  by  goddesses  on  the  monu- 
ments, and  by  ladies  of  royal  rank  in  the  age  of 
the  Pharaohs.  The  chair,  on  which  she  is  seated, 
with  its  back  shaped  like  the  hieroglyphic  p  (s), 
is  an  exact  copy  of  that  on  which  Egyptian 
deities  were  wont  to  be  enthroned  and  Egyptian 
sovereigns  used  to  sit  in  state.  The  stiff  and 
angular  infant  is  the  very  image  of  Horus ;  near 
by  stands  Joseph,  rather  rigidly  draped,  and  hold- 
ing in  his  right  hand  a  tree  and  an  instrument 
resembling  a  chisel,  which  may  be  intended  to 
indicate  the  occupation  of  a  carpenter.  Above 
their  heads  extends  the  ideogram  f=i  (pt),  signi- 
fying the  sky  or  heavens,  and  suggesting  either 
the  place  of  their  abode  or  their  divine  character. 
Over  all  hovers  a  female  gyrfalcon  with  outspread 
wings,  the  Nechebt-Ilithyia  (ElXeiOvta),  which  pre- 
sides over  births  and  renders  parturition  easy,  as 
is  stated  in  the  Physiologus,  by  means  of  the  Indian 
stone  eutokios  (evroKtos). 

Another  striking  example  of  this  tendency  is  the 
transformation  of  Horus  slaying  Seth-Typhon  into 
St.  George  and  the  Dragon.  An  Egyptian  bas- 
relief  of  bronze  in  the  Louvre,  and  a  similar  one  in 
clay  in  the  British  Museum,  represent  the  sparrow- 
headed  god  equipped  as  a  mounted  warrior,  and 
thrusting  his  spear  into  the  neck  of  a  crocodile,  the 
emblem  and    incarnation  of  his  demonic  foe.     In 


14  Animal  Symbolism 

Egyptian  mythology  Horus  symbolized  the  vital 
energy  and  reproductive  power  of  nature ;  he  derived 
his  name  from  the  Semitic  Hiir,  signifying  light,  and 
was  therefore  properly  regarded  by  Herodotus  as 
identical  with  Apollo;  hence  the  double  name  of  the 
Greco-Egyptian  priest  Horapollo,  whose  Hierogly- 
phica  (edited  by  C.  Leemans,  Amsterdam,  1835)  is 
an  early  and  important  contribution  to  symbolical 
zoology.  Horus  personified  not  only  the  vivifying 
and  fertilizing  forces  of  the  physical  world,  and  the 
triumph  of  life  over  death,  but  also  the  victory  of 
good  over  evil ;  his  feast  was  therefore  a  v^ernal 
festival  celebrated  on  the  twenty-third  of  April. 
Typhon,  on  the  other  hand,  was  the  demon  of  the 
desert,  the  producer  of  drought  and  sterility  and 
famine.  As  the  counterpart  to  this  delineation  we 
have  a  rude  Coptic  relief  of  St.  George  and  the 
Dragon,  which  was  discovered  at  Luxor,  and  is  so 
thoroughly  Egyptian  in  character  that  it  might  be 
easily  mistaken  for  Horus  and  Seth-Typhon.  Over 
the  haloed  head  of  the  Christian  hero  is  an  equilateral 
triangle,  a  symbol  of  the  Trinity  of  frequent  occur- 
rence on  Egyptian  monuments ;  indeed,  according 
to  Plutarch,  the  fact  that  the  ibis  was  wont  to  stand 
with  straddled  legs  so  as  to  form  such  a  figure 
greatly  added  to  its  sacredness.  In  the  background 
is  the  bull  Apis,  with  what  seems  to  be  a  decrescent 
moon  (Ebers  calls  it  a  disc  of  the  sun,  Sonnenscheibe) 
over  its  back.  The  Egyptians  worshipped  two  bulls, 
both  sacred  to  Osiris,  namely  Mneuis  at  Heliopolis, 
and  Apis  at  Memphis ;  the  sign  of  the  former  was 


In    Ecclesiastical    Architecture 


the  sun,  and  that  of  the  latter  the  moon.  Above 
the  gateway,  through  which  St.  George  is  riding 
with  the  dragon  squirming  beneath  his  horse,  are 
two  birds  having  tails  resembling  the  chrysalis  of 
an  insect,  and  it  may  be,  as  Ebers  suggests,  that 
they  are  the  larva  out  of  which  the  rejuvenated 
phoenix  was  supposed  to  emerge.  It  is  possible, 
however,  that  these  queer  tails  are  merely  the  result 
of  an  awkward  attempt  to  draw  feathers.  The 
anniversary  of  St.  George,  like  that  of  Horus,  is  on 
the  twenty-third  of  April,  and  there  is  not  the 
slightest  doubt  that  this  canonized  knight,  who 
figures  in  hagiology  as  a  Cappadocian  prince  and 
blessed  martyr,  owes  his  existence  to  the  Christian- 
ization  of  an  old  Egyptian  myth,  which,  after  under- 
going this  metamorphosis,  migrated  to  Syria,  where 
the  saint  is  reputed  to  have  been  born  in  the  city  of 
Lydda,  and  thence  gradually  spread  over  all  Asia 
Minor.  Here  the  crusaders  became  familiar  with 
the  legend,  adopted  St.  George  as  their  patron  and 
pattern  in  waging  the  holy  war  against  the  Mussul- 
manic  dragon,  and  brought  him  to  Europe  em- 
blazoned on  their  banners. 

It  is  highly  probable,  and  indeed  quite  certain, 
that  many  ornamentations  of  Christian  architecture, 
which  are  now  merely  traditional  and  conventional 
forms  and  perform  a  purely  decorative  function, 
might  be  traced  to  Egyptian  and  other  Oriental 
sources,  where  they  had  distinct  significance  as 
signs  and  symbols.  But  it  is  not  the  purpose  of  the 
writer  to  undertake  such  a  study  in  comparative 


1 6  Animal  Symbolism 

symbology,  nor  are  the  materials  necessary  to  its 
successful  prosecution  as  yet  available,  notwith- 
standing the  rapidly  accumulating  and  extremely 
valuable  results  of  recent  researches  in  archaeology, 
ethnography,  philology,  and  the  critical  comparison 
of  religions.  The  aim  of  the  present  volume  is  a 
much  simpler  one,  being  an  attempt  to  explain  the 
meaning  of  the  real  or  fabulous  animals,  which  have 
been  put  to  decorative  uses  in  ecclesiastical  archi- 
tecture, and  thus  to  account  for  their  admittance  to 
sacred  edifices.  The  book  is  intended  to  be  suggest- 
ive rather  than  exhaustive,  showing  the  origin  and 
signification  of  the  most  prominent  of  these  types 
and  symbols,  and  indicating  the  direction  in  which 
further  investigations  are  to  be  pursued.  The 
founder  or  at  least  the  most  eminent  representative 
of  the  Alexandrian  School  of  allegorists  was  the 
Jewish  philosopher  Philo,  who,  as  a  mediator 
between  Hebrew  and  Hellenic  culture,  endeavoured 
to  discover  the  teachings  of  Pythagoras,  Plato,  and 
Aristotle  esoterically  concealed  in  the  Mosaic 
records,  by  giving  to  the  latter  a  far-fetched,  figura- 
tive interpretation.  This  hermeneutical  principle 
was  adopted  by  Christian  exegetists  and  apologists, 
especially  by  Clemens  Alexandrinus  in  his  Stro- 
inateus  (patchwork  or  miscellany  of  Greek  and 
Christian  literature),  and  by  Origen,  who  recognized 
in  the  Scriptures  a  threefold  sense :  literal  or  his- 
torical, moral  or  psychical,  and  mystical  or  pneu- 
matic. Cassian,  in  the  fifth  century,  wrote  a  work 
entitled  Collationes  Patrum  Sceticoriim,  in  which  he 


In    Ecclesiastical    Architecture        17 

states  that  there  are  four  kinds  of  knowledge  to  be 
derived  from  Biblical  study  :  historical,  tropological, 
allegorical,  and  anagogical.  The  first  of  these, 
being  for  the  most  part  perfectly  plain,  was  of  no 
importance ;  only  the  last  three  deserve  the  name  of 
spiritual  knowledge  {intelligentiam  spirit uale7>i) ;  or, 
as  Hrabanus  Maurus  expressed  it  four  centuries 
later,  the  historical  sense  is  milk  for  babes ;  the 
tropological  sense  is  nutriment  suited  to  those  more 
advanced  in  wisdom ;  the  allegorical  sense  is  the 
strong  meat  adapted  to  the  robust  souls  whose 
faith  is  revealed  in  good  works ;  while  the  saintly 
persons,  who  despise  all  earthly  joys  and  have  fixed 
their  affections  wholly  on  heavenly  things,  are  alone 
fit  to  receive  the  "wine  of  anagogical  interpreta- 
tion "  and  to  be  edified  thereby.  This  last  and 
highest  degree  of  spiritual  discernment  is  beyond 
the  reach  of  "  the  higher  criticism,"  and,  as  Cassian 
observes,  is  not  attainable  by  severe  study  and  deep 
erudition,  but  comes  from  divine  illumination  pro- 
duced by  fasting,  prayer,  and  holy  meditation.  It 
is  an  enlightenment  of  the  understanding  proceeding 
from  the  purification  of  the  heart,  and  not  from 
poring  over  commentaries  ;  a  lifting  of  the  veil  of 
the  passions  that  obscure  the  mental  vision. 

Not  only  was  the  Hebrew  cosmogony  allegorized 
and  spiritualized,  but  the  same  method  of  exposi- 
tion was  applied  to  the  whole  system  of  nature. 
Origen,  in  describing  the  process  of  creation,  explains 
the  creatures  that  fill  the  waters,  the  fowls  of  the  air, 
and  the  creeping  things  as  signifying  good  or  evil 

c 


1 8  Animal    Symbolism 


thoughts  and  feelings,  and  calls  special  attention  to 
the  great '  whales  as  symbolizing  violent  passions 
and  criminal  impulses.  In  the  hermeneutical  Hexa- 
hemera  of  Basil  the  Great  and  his  brother  Gregory 
of  Nyssa  this  zoological  typology  is  still  more  fully 
developed,  and  the  various  characteristics,  popularly 
attributed  to  animals,  served  to  enforce  moral  teach- 
ings or  to  illustrate  theological  tenets.  More  im- 
portant in  this  respect  are  the  so-called  Claves 
Scriptures  Sacrce,  which  were  to  be  used  as  keys 
not  only  for  unlocking  the  spiritual  treasures  of 
Holy  Writ,  but  also  for  disclosing  the  mystical 
meaning  of  all  natural  things,  the  Greek  Physiologus, 
and  the  numerous  medieval  compilations  and 
poetical  productions  based  upon  it,  of  which  an 
account  is  given  in  the  second  and  third  chapters 
of  this  volume.  These  works  contain  an  epitome 
of  the  mythical  and  symbolical  zoology,  botany, 
ornithology,  and  mineralogy  gathered  from  many 
nations,  and  transmitted  from  the  remotest  times. 
Very  early  in  the  Christian  era  this  traditional 
material  infused  itself  into  patristic  literature,  and 
thus  gradually  passed  from  rhetorical  decoration  in 
Christian  homilies  to  artistic  decoration  in  Christian 
architecture,  where  it  found  expression  in  fantastic 
and  often  monstrous  forms,  which  can  be  under- 
stood only  by  tracing  them  to  their  sources  in  the 
superstitious  notions  of  ancient  and  especially 
Oriental  peoples.  With  the  growth  of  religious 
scepticism  and  schism  this  symbolism  gradually 
and   almost  imperceptibly  merged  into  satire,    so 


In    Ecclesiastical    Architecture        19 

that  it  is  often  difficult  to  draw  a  line  of  demarca- 
tion between  them.  Mediaeval  humour  was  coarse 
rather  than  keen,  and  better  skilled  in  wielding 
bludgeons  than  in  brandishing  rapiers.  Even  the 
genius  of  Rabelais  hardly  suffices  to  relieve  it  of  a 
certain  boorish  grossness  and  brutality,  and  render 
it  thoroughly  enjoyable  to  the  refined  and  fastidious 
modern  reader.  The  satire  of  the  period  of  the 
Reformation  was  of  the  same  bitter  and  abusive 
style.  Luther's  wit  was  notoriously  nasty,  and 
even  the  gentle  Melanchthon  was  capable  of  in- 
dulging in  a  strain  of  sarcasm  which  any  cultivated 
man  of  to-day  would  reprobate  as  extremely 
vulgar.  It  must  be  remembered,  however,  that  this 
coarseness  was  a  characteristic  of  the  age,  and  is 
not  to  be  regarded  as  a  mark  of  intrinsic  vile- 
ness  or  individual  depravity.  It  was  something 
wholly  external,  a  mode  of  expression  by  no 
means  inconsistent  with  a  robust  virtue,  as  far 
removed  from  prudishness  as  from  pruriency.  In 
our  time  the  fiercest  theological  polemic  would 
hardly  venture  to  lampoon  and  caricature  his 
opponents  as  the  reformers  of  the  sixteenth  century 
did  the  see  of  Rome,  nor  would  the  most  rabid 
apostle  of  Anti-Semitism  seek  to  propagate  his 
views  by  adorning  Christian  churches  and  other 
public  edifices  with  filthy  sculptures  derisive  of 
the  Jews. 

In  the  volume  now  offered  to  the  public  the  author 
has  endeavoured  to  show  the  rise  and  evolution  of 
this  symbolism,  and  its  transition  to  satire  as  seen  in 


20  Animal    Symbolism 

Christian  art,  although,  as  already  stated,  he  is  very 
far  from  claiming  to  have  exhausted  the  subject. 
The  illustrations  are  derived  partly  from  the  bes- 
tiaries printed  by  Cahier  in  the  second  volume  of 
his  Melanges  d'Archeologie,  partly  from  a  parch- 
ment manuscript  psalter  of  Isabella  of  France  in  the 
Royal  Library  of  Munich,  and  partly  from  eccle- 
siastical edifices.  The  appended  bibliography, 
taken  in  connection  with  the  references  given  in 
the  body  of  the  work,  will  be  found  to  contain 
the  principal  sources  of  information. 

In  conclusion,  I  wish  to  express  my  hearty  thanks 
to  Hrn.  Dr.  Laubmann,  Director  of  the  K.  Hof-  und 
Staatsbibliothek  in  Munich,  Bavaria,  as  well  as  to 
the  other  custodians  of  that  library,  for  the  uniform 
kindness  and  cordiality  shown  in  admitting  me  to 
the  privileges  and  in  facilitating  the  use  of  that 
magnificent  collection  of  printed  books  and  manu- 
scripts. 


CHAPTER  I 

ALLEGORICAL  AND  ANAGOGICAL  INTERPRETA- 
TIONS  OF    NATURE 

Impulse  given  to  the  study  of  natural  history  by  Alexander 
the  Great — Scientific  spirit  fostered  by  Aristotle — Lack 
of  this  spirit  among  the  Romans — Alexandria  as  a  centre 
of  learning  under  the  Ptolemies — The  Christian  theory  of 
the  relation  of  the  Book  of  Revelation  to  the  Book  of 
Nature — The  patristic  conception  of  the  visible  creation 
as  an  image  of  the  invisible  world  and  a  mirror  of  spiritual 
truth — Animals  as  religious  emblems  in  Oriental,  and 
especially  in  Buddhistic,  literature — Mineralogical  sym- 
bolism— Magical  and  medical  properties  and  religious 
significance  of  precious  stones — Legends  of  Solomon's 
wisdom,  and  his  method  of  building  the  Temple — Cere- 
mony of  blessing  jewels — Speculations  of  Justinus  Kerner 
and  Schubert  concerning  the  occult  affinities  of  the  mineral 
kingdom  to  man — The  typology  of  precious  stones  accord- 
ing to  the  Physiologus — Spiritual  meaning  of  the  diamond, 
the  pearl,  and  the  Indian  stone— Terrobuli  in  Christian 
symbolism  and  architecture. 

Alexander  the  Great,  in  addition  to  his  mili- 
tary exploits  and  political  achievements,  also  gave 
a  new  impulse  and  direction  to  the  development  of 
natural  history  in  Greece  by  supplying  his  tutor, 
Aristotle,  with  specimens  and  more  or  less  accurate 
descriptions  of  animals  native  to  the  lands  he  had 
conquered.    By  means  of  the  material  thus  obtained 


22  Animal  Symbolism 

the  peripatetic  philosopher  was  enabled  to  extend  his 
researches  beyond  the  confines  of  his  own  country, 
and  to  correct  many  false  and  fantastic  notions 
that  had  hitherto  prevailed  concerning  exotic,  and 
especially  Oriental,  fauna,  and  thus  became — at 
least  in  a  relative  and  restricted  sense — the  founder 
of  systematic  zoology  in  the  modern  signification 
of  the  term.  His  predecessors,  as  well  as  his 
contemporaries,  had  been  wont  to  speculate  about 
animals  chiefly  from  moral,  religious,  poetic,  artistic, 
didactic,  humoristic,  satirical,  sentimental,  and 
superstitious  points  of  view,  and  to  prize  the  lessons 
of  prudence  and  piety  and  wisdom  which  they 
were  supposed  to  inculcate ;  but  the  Stagirite  was 
the  first  to  study  them  from  a  strictly  scientific 
point  of  view. 

Still,  the  scientific  field,  which  Aristotle  culti- 
vated with  such  assiduous  care  and  with  so  fruitful 
results,  formed  only  a  small  evergreen  spot,  stand- 
ing oasis-like  in  the  midst  of  a  wide  waste  of  wild 
conjectures  and  sterile  speculations.  Tyrtamus 
of  Lesbos,  surnamed  Theophrastus,  his  favourite 
pupil  and  chosen  successor  as  head  of  the  peripa- 
tetic school,  followed  in  the  footsteps  of  the  great 
master  in  this  field  of  investigation,  and  aimed  at 
the  acquisition  of  positive  knowledge  by  means  of 
exact  methods  in  the  study  of  nature.  Unfortu- 
nately, however,  the  fabulous  stories  related  by 
Ktesias  and  Megasthenes  in  their  voluminous  de- 
scriptions of  India  and  Persia  appealed  more 
powerfully  to  the  imagination,  and  gratified  in   a 


In    Ecclesiastical    Architecture        23 

higher  degree  the  popular  love  of  the  marvellous, 
than  the  sober  records  of  accurate  observation,  and 
therefore  acquired  far  greater  currency. 

The  Romans  brought  beasts  from  the  remotest 
provinces  of  the  empire,  not  because  they  felt  any 
rational  or  scientific  interest  in  them,  but  solely 
in  order  to  increase  the  pomp  and  splendour  of 
military  triumphs,  or  to  minister  to  the  barbarous 
and  bloody  sports  of  the  amphitheatre.  According 
to  Petronius,  the  Marmaric  deserts  and  the  Moorish 
forests  were  scoured  for  the  purpose  of  procuring 
ferocious  animals  to  fight  in  the  arena  with  each 
other,  or  with  trained  gladiators  in  horrible  combat. 
"  The  ships  from  foreign  shores,"  he  says,  "  are 
crowded  with  fierce  tigers  confined  in  gilded  cages, 
and  destined  to  drink  human  blood  to  the  frantic 
plaudits  of  the  populace." 

When  Cicero  was  proconsul  in  Cilicia,  he  received 
an  urgent  letter  from  the  aedile  Ccelius,  imploring 
him  to  send  as  speedily  as  possible  a  cargo  of 
panthers,  which  were  to  be  used  as  a  "campaign 
fund  "  for  electioneering  purposes.  As  a  means  of 
winning  the  suffrages  of  the  rabble  this  sort  of  ex- 
penditure was  probably  more  efficient,  and  certainly 
more  open  and  exciting  than  the  modern  system  of 
distributing  "  bunched  "  ballots,  or  of  purchasing 
venal  voters  "  in  blocks  of  five."  To  this  entreaty 
Cicero  replied  that  he  would  do  his  best  to  comply 
with  the  request  of  his  friend,  and  thus  contribute 
to  the  success  of  his  candidacy,  but  that  owing  to 
the  energy  and  skill  of  many  lovers  of  the  chase, 


24  Animal  Symbolism 

and  especially  of  a  certain  Patiscus,  these  beasts 
of  venery  were  very  scarce,  having  fled  for  safety 
from  his  consular  province  into  Caria.  If  we  may 
believe  their  own  statements,  the  Romans  accom- 
plished wonders  in  training  beasts  and  birds  for 
private  amusement  or  for  spectacular  entertain- 
ments. Their  passion  for  pet  animals  was  a  matter 
of  fashion,  a  mere  "fad";  and  Cato  bitterly  censured 
the  degeneracy  of  the  times,  when  ladies  frequented 
the  market-place  fondling  lap-dogs,  and  dandies 
strutted  about  with  parrots  perched  on  their  wrists. 
These  birds  were  kept  in  cages  of  gold  and  silver 
and  tortoise-shell,  and  taught  to  shout  the  name  of 
the  reigning  emperor.  The  lion  learned  to  play 
with  hares,  catching  them  in  frolic  and  letting  them 
go,  and  rabbits  ran  and  took  refuge  in  its  jaws  as 
in  their  burrow.  Martial,  who  describes  these  per- 
formances, adds,  in  obsequious  flattery  of  Domitian, 
that  this  gentleness  and  docilit)'  of  savage  beasts 
are  due  less  to  the  art  of  the  tamer  {domatoj-)  than 
to  awe  of  the  emperor  {imperatot-),  "  for  the  lions 
know  whom  they  serve."  The  same  poet  informs 
us  that  eagles  were  made  to  act  on  the  stage, 
taking  a  boy  up  into  the  air  without  doing  him 
any  harm,  in  realistic  representation  of  the  rape  of 
Ganymede  on  Mount  Ida — 

"  ^thereas  aquila  puemm  portante  per  auras, 
Illcesum  timidis  unquibus  haisit  onus." 

Ep.  Lib.  i.  7. 

In  view  of  this  almost  exclusively  amphitheatrical 


In    Ecclesiastical    Architecture        25 


and  utterly  brutalizing  relation  of  the  Romans  to 
the  animal  world,  it  is  not  surprising  to  find  in  the 
Natural  History  of  Pliny  an  encyclopaedic  compi- 
lation of  current  traditions  and  popular  supersti- 
tions, instead  of  a  record  of  actual  observations  and 
scientific  conclusions.  In  short,  the  Romans  do 
not  appear  to  have  made  any  contributions  what- 
ever to  natural  science,  although  the  vast  extent  of 
their  dominions  afforded  them  an  excellent  oppor- 
tunity for  such  investigations.  Not  even  in  the 
great  didactic  poem  of  the  keen-witted  Lucretius, 
De  Rerum  Natura,  do  we  discover  any  distinct 
traces  of  the  Aristotelian  method  of  inquiry.  The 
achievements  of  Roman  thought  were  in  politics, 
and  the  cognate  department  of  jurisprudence. 

During  the  reign  of  the  Ptolemies,  as  well  as 
under  the  rule  of  Roman  prefects,  Alexandria  was 
celebrated,  not  only  as  the  chief  commercial  centre 
of  the  world,  but  also  as  a  cosmopolitan  seat  of 
learning,  and  the  principal  avenue  of  intellectual 
communication  between  the  East  and  the  West. 
Indeed,  Egyptian  monarchs — at  least  from  the  ac- 
cession of  the  Nineteenth  Dynasty,  sixteen  cen- 
turies before  the  Christian  era — seem  to  have  had  a 
peculiar  passion  for  establishing  museums  of  curi- 
osities, menageries  of  exotic  beasts  and  birds,  and 
other  collections  of  rare  and  abnormal  productions 
of  nature.  The  ninth  Ptolemy,  Euergetes  II.,  sur- 
named  Physkon  (Gorbelly),  wrote  a  book  full  of 
curious  information  about  such  things.  His  great 
aim,  however,  was  not  to  discover  and  record  facts, 


26  Animal  Symbolism 


but  to  recount  wonders,  and  he  is  therefore  well 
characterized  by  Pitra  in  his  Spicilegium  Soles- 
vtense  as  a  "  rerum  mirabilium  curiosissimus  inves- 
tigator." It  was  the  mirabilia^  or  marvels  of  nature, 
that  attracted  his  attention  and  stimulated  his  re- 
searches. This  sovereign  was  so  zealous  in  pro- 
curing works  for  the  Alexandrian  libraries  (the 
Bruchium  Museum  and  the  Serapeum)  that  he  not 
only  sent  special  emissaries  into  foreign  countries 
to  purchase  them  at  high  prices,  but  was  also  ac- 
customed to  take  away  from  travellers  any  valuable 
manuscripts  in  their  possession  and  add  them  to 
the  public  collections,  giving  in  return  a  copy  of 
the  book  thus  arbitrarily  appropriated. 

Alexandrian  learning  embraced  unquestionably 
a  wide  range  of  topics,  among  which  medicine, 
anatomy,  mathematics,  astronomy,  and  geography 
held  a  prominent  place,  but  the  study  of  botany, 
mineralogy,  and  zoology  were  carried  on  in  an 
extremely  superficial  and  desultory  manner,  and 
chiefly  for  the  purpose  of  discovering  in  plants, 
stones,  and  animals  the  occult  and  magical  proper- 
ties and  "  strange  and  vigorous  faculties "  with 
which  they  were  supposed  to  be  endowed.  Of  the 
cautious  and  critical  study  and  scrutiny  of  nature, 
and  the  essentially  scientific  spirit  which  character- 
ized the  Aristotelian  method  of  research,  these 
scholars  appear  to  have  had  little  or  no  conception. 

It  was  also  in  the  Greco-Judaic  schools  of 
Alexandria  that  Christian  theology  was  developed 
as  the  resultant  of  the  contact  and  conflict  of  the 


In    Ecclesiastical    Architecture       27 

Hebrew  with  the  Hellenic  intellect.  From  the 
Christian  point  of  view,  the  Bible  was  recognized 
as  the  only  true  source  of  knowledge.  The  sacred 
volume  was  assumed  to  contain  unerring  informa- 
tion on  all  subjects  whatsoever,  provided  one  could 
ascertain  its  real  meaning,  which  was  often  wrapped 
up  and  hidden  in  allegories  and  obscure  similitudes 
and  symbolisms,  like  precious  treasures  kept  in 
caskets  under  intricate  locks,  and  concealed  in 
dark  places.  Hence  the  supreme  importance  of 
hermeneutics  as  the  science  of  sciences,  the  master- 
key,  which  opens  all  the  secrets  of  the  universe, 
and  reveals  all  the  mysteries  of   nature. 

It  is  said  of  Solomon  that  "  he  spake  of  trees 
from  the  cedar  that  is  in  Lebanon,  even  unto  the 
hyssop  that  springeth  out  of  the  wall ;  he  spake  also 
of  beasts  and  of  fowl,  and  of  creeping  things  and  of 
fishes."  We  are  not  justified,  however,  in  assuming 
that  he  discoursed  of  natural  history  in  the  modern 
sense  of  the  term,  or  that  he  was  familiar  with 
botany,  zoology,  ornithology,  entomology,  and 
ichthyology,  as  we  understand  these  sciences.  His 
knowledge  of  plants  and  of  animals  did  not  differ 
in  kind  from  that  of  his  contemporaries  and  of  the 
age  in  which  he  lived  ;  he  was  superior  to  others 
only  in  possessing  a  sturdier  common-sense  and 
shrewder  skill,  in  applying  this  current  lore  to 
human  life  and  conduct,  in  apothegmatic  illustration 
of  the  folly  or  wisdom  of  mankind.  What  we  call 
the  book  of  nature  was  to  him  a  vast  and  many- 
volumed    treatise   on   all    phases   and    features   of 


Animal  Symbolism 


human  nature,  in  which  the  world  of  lower 
creatures  was  held  up  to  man  as  a  moral  mirror, 
in  order  that  he  might  see  therein  the  reflections 
of  his  own  vices  and  virtues. 

In  the  development  and  enforcement  of  this  idea 
patristic  theologians  surpassed  the  prophets  and 
sages  of  the  Old  Testament,  and  even  the  subtle 
scribes  and  quibbling  rabbis,  resolving  the  external 
universe  into  a  mere  body  of  divinity  or  system  of 
Christian  doctrine,  written  in  cipher,  which  it  was 
the  function  of  the  exegetist  to  interpret  so  as  to 
bring  it  into  harmony  with  divine  revelation,  and 
make  it  illustrative  and  confirmatory  of  Holy  Writ. 
According  to  Origen  "  the  visible  world  teaches  us 
concerning  the  invisible  ;  the  earth  contains  images 
of  heavenly  things,  in  order  that  by  means  of 
these  lower  objects  we  may  mount  up  to  that 
which  is  above.  .  .  .  As  God  made  man  in  His 
own  image  and  after  His  own  likeness,  so  He  created 
the  lower  animals  after  the  likeness  of  heavenly 
prototypes." 

This  conception  of  the  physical  world  as  a 
symbol  of  spiritual  truth  is  only  one  form  in  which 
the  ascetic  contempt  of  the  body,  as  a  clog  and 
cumbrance  to  the  soul  and  a  hindrance  of  holy  as- 
pirations, took  expression.  The  cosmos  or  material 
body  of  the  universe,  like  the  carnal  body  of  the 
individual,  must  be  sanctified  by  its  spiritualization 
and  virtual  expression.  Paul's  statement  that  "  the 
invisible  things  of  Him  (God)  from  the  creation  of 
the  world  are  clearly  seen,  being  understood  by  the 


In    Ecclesiastical    Architecture        29 

things  that  are  made,"  was  thought  to  be  a 
distinct  assertion  and  ample  justification  of  this 
theory,  which  rendered  even  the  heathen,  to  whom 
the  gospel  had  not  been  revealed,  "without 
excuse." 

The  Talmud  declares  that  "  he  who  interprets  the 
scripture  literally  is  a  liar  and  a  blasphemer."  This 
exegetical  principle  is,  however,  not  exclusively 
Talmudic,  but  underlies  and  pervades  more  or  less 
completely  all  hermeneutical  literature.  This  atti- 
tude of  mind  arises  from  the  fact  that  sacred 
books,  which  are  accepted  and  transmitted  from 
generation  to  generation  as  infallible  and  therefore 
unchangeable  records  and  repositories  of  truth,  can 
keep  pace  with  the  progress  of  human  thought, 
and  adapt  themselves  to  the  growth  of  knowledge, 
so  as  to  maintain  their  hold  upon  the  morally  and 
intellectually  advancing  races  of  mankind,  only  by 
voluntarily  laying  aside  all  claims  to  strict  and 
literal  accuracy,  and  taking  refuge  in  allegorical 
and  symbolical  interpretations. 

According  to  the  biblical  story  the  fall  of  man 
involved  the  alteration  and  corruption  of  the  whole 
creation,  including  all  forms  of  animal  and  vege- 
table life,  and  extending  even  to  the  soil  itself, 
which  thenceforth  showed  a  perverse  prolificacy 
in  bringing  forth  thorns  and  brambles  and  every 
species  of  noxious  weed.  These  lower  organisms 
were  also  embraced  in  the  Christian  scheme  of 
redemption,  and  are  represented  as  looking  forward 
with  painful  longing  to  its  completion,  and  their 


30  Animal  Symbolism 

consequent  release  from  the  degrading  penalties  of 
human  transgression. 

Indeed,  one  of  the  most  conspicuous  signs  of 
the  successful  issue  and  perfect  consummation  of 
the  Atonement  is  to  be  the  disappearance  of  all 
antipathies  between  savage  beasts  and  their  natural 
prey  :  the  lion  will  lay  aside  his  fierce  animosities 
and  carnivorous  appetites,  lying  down  with  the 
lamb,  and  eating  straw  like  the  bullock  in  token 
of  his  regeneration,  and  universal  peace  will  be 
restored.  Satan  will  be  dethroned  as  the  prince 
of  this  world,  and  the  earth  resume  its  pristine 
state  of  Edenic  innocence  and  paradisean  purity. 

Thus  the  present  condition  and  ultimate  destiny 
of  mankind  were  supposed  to  be  reflected  frag- 
mentarily  in  the  lower  animals  as  in  a  shattered 
mirror ;  and  it  was  from  this  source  that  the  early 
Christian  evangelists  and  patristic  theologians  were 
especially  fond  of  drawing  illustrations  of  spiritual 
truths  and  elucidations  of  scriptural  texts.  The 
words  of  Job  :  "  Ask  the  beast  and  it  will  teach 
thee,  and  the  birds  of  heaven  and  they  will  tell 
thee,"  were  assumed  to  furnish  sufficient  ground 
for  regarding  the  entire  animal  kingdom  as  a  mere 
collection  of  types  and  symbols  of  religious  dogmas 
and  Christian  virtues.  The  apocalyptic  monsters 
of  St.  John  the  Divine  were  also  cited  as  a  pre- 
cedent warranting  the  wildest  vagaries  of  zoological 
exegesis. 

In  Oriental  literature,  and  especially  in  the  sacred 
books  of  the  East,  nothing  is  more  common  than 


In    Ecclesiastical    Architecture        31 

to  put  animals  to  rhetorical,  metaphorical,  and 
emblematical  uses,  and  to  hold  them  up  to  the 
religious  man  as  models  for  imitation.  Compari- 
sons and  correspondencies  of  this  kind  were  natur- 
ally suggested  by  the  doctrine  of  metempsychosis, 
in  which  they  have  a  psychological  basis,  and  from 
which  they  derive  a  peculiar  force  and  cogency, 
wholly  foreign  to  Occidental  habits  of  thought  and 
feeling. 

Thus  the  Buddhist  ascetic  is  told  to  pattern  in 
austerity  and  humility  after  the  ass,  which  is  con- 
tent to  sleep  by  the  roadside  in  the  outskirts  of 
the  village,  on  a  dust-heap,  a  bed  of  chaff,  or  a 
layer  of  leaves.  He  is  also  enjoined  to  take  heed 
to  the  squirrel,  which,  when  assailed,  uses  its  tail 
as  a  cudgel  against  its  enemies,  and  to  ward  off 
carnal  affections  and  spiritual  foes  with  the  staff 
of  steady  and  earnest  meditation.  When  he  goes 
forth  with  his  begging  bowl,  he  should  wrap 
himself  in  the  vesture  of  meekness  and  moral 
restraint,  that  he  may  be  free  from  fear  and  from 
worldly  contamination,  as  the  white  ant  covers  itself 
with  a  leaf  when  it  goes  in  quest  of  food.  The 
scorpion  has  a  sting  in  its  tail,  which  it  bears  erect  ; 
in  like  manner  the  religious  man  should  wield  the 
sword  of  knowledge,  and  thereby  render  himself 
invincible.  In  the  burning  heat  of  summer  the 
pig  betakes  itself  to  a  pond ;  so  the  devotee,  when 
his  soul  is  scorched  and  inflamed  by  evil  passions, 
should  have  recourse  to  the  cool,  refreshing,  and 
ambrosial  exercise  of  universal  kindliness.     Again, 


32  Animal  Symbolism 

the  hog,  having  gone  to  a  marsh  or  swamp,  digs  a 
trough  in  the  earth  and  lies  therein ;  so  the  yogi 
should  bury  his  body  in  the  trough  of  his  mind 
by  means  of  profound  and  passionless  meditation. 
The  owl  is  the  mortal  enemy  of  crows,  and  is 
wont  to  repair  to  their  nests  at  night  and  kill  their 
young ;  in  like  manner  the  religious  mendicant  is 
the  foe  of  ignorance,  and  plucks  it  out  of  his  mind 
and  destroys  it  before  it  has  become  inveterate. 
Like  the  owl,  too,  he  loves  seclusion  and  the  quiet 
favourable  to  calm  reflection.  The  leech  sucks 
itself  fast  to  whatever  it  touches,  and  gorges  itself 
with  blood ;  so  the  yogi  holds  firmly  to  whatever 
he  fixes  his  thoughts  upon,  and  drinks  in  the 
never-cloying  fulness  of  Nirvana.  The  spider 
spins  its  web  to  catch  flies ;  the  yogi  spreads  the 
net  of  unbroken  contemplation  before  the  six 
avenues  of  the  senses,  and  takes  captive  and 
destroys  every  lust  that  seeks  to  enter  into  the 
mind.  Those  who  have  become  the  slaves  of  the 
passions  live  wholly  in  them,  moving  about  in  a 
world  of  illusions,  the  creation  of  their  own  desires, 
as  the  spider  runs  to  and  fro  on  the  filaments  of 
the  web,  which  it  has  spun  out  of  its  own  bowels. 
The  process  of  regeneration  and  emancipation  from 
the  allurements  of  the  senses  and  the  trammels  of 
the  flesh  is  compared  to  the  action  of  the  snake  in 
casting  its  skin.  He  who  is  content  with  sensual 
pleasures  is  like  a  hog  wallowing  in  the  mire  and 
glutted  with  wash.  The  elephant  is  the  type  of 
patient  endurance,  self-restraint.     Buddha  himself 


In    Ecclesiastical    Architecture        i^^ 


is  likened  to  a  well-tamed  {suddntd)  elephant,  and 
is  often  spoken  of  as  the  great  elephant  {inahdndgd). 
Another  symbol  of  the  pious  recluse,  who  has  re- 
nounced the  world,  is  the  rhinoceros,  because  it 
loves  to  dwell  alone  and  remote  from  its  kind. 

Even  inanimate  things  are  moralized  and  m.ade 
to  represent  spiritual  states.  Thus  the  jug  (Jmni- 
b/io),  which  emits  no  sound  when  it  is  full,  em- 
blematizes the  man  who  is  full  of  knov.^ledge,  and 
walks  humbly  and  soberly  in  the  "  path  "  {dhaniia- 
patka),  avoiding  vain  boastings  and  garrulousness 
and  noisy  ostentation.  This  idea  is  expressed  in 
the  following  lines  from  the  Suttanipata : 

"  Loudly  brawls  the  shallow  run, 
But  the  stream  that's  deep  is  dumb. 
Noise  betrays  the  empty  tun  ; 
From  the  full  no  sound  doth  come. 
Empty  pitchers  like  are  fools  ; 
Wise  men  are  the  full,  clear  pools." 

The  same  figure  of  speech  occurs  in  The  Lover 
of  Sir  Walter  Raleigh  : 

"  Passions  are  likened  best  to  floods  and  streams. 
The  shallow  murmurs,  while  the  deeps  are  dumb." 

In  these  comparisons  and  injunctions  the  common 
qualities  and  most  conspicuous  characteristics  of 
the  animals,  which  the  holy  man  is  admonished  to 
imitate,  are  lost  sight  of,  and  only  certain  fanciful 
attributes  considered.  In  common  parlance  it 
would  not  be  flattering  to  speak  of  a  saint  meta- 
phorically as  an  ass,  a  hog,  a  leech,  or  a  scorpion. 

D 


34  Animal  Symbolism 

This  comical  disregard  of  the  prominent  points  of 
resemblance,  which  would  be  most  naturally  sug- 
gested by  the  simile,  is  not  confined  to  Buddhistic 
writings,  but,  as  we  shall  see  hereafter,  constantly 
occurs  in  Christian  hermeneutical  and  homiletical 
literature,  and  often  renders  it  very  funny  reading. 

It  was  also  in  the  Orient  that  a  sort  of  mineral- 
ogical  symbolism,  based  upon  certain  magical  and 
magnetic  qualities  supposed  to  be  peculiar  to 
precious  stones,  was  first  and  most  fully  developed. 
Jewels  were  worn  originally,  and  are  still  worn  in 
Eastern  countries,  as  prophylactics  and  talismans 
rather  than  as  mere  ornaments.  Their  purpose 
was  not  so  much  to  adorn  as  to  protect  the  person, 
preventing  disease  and  warding  off  malign  in- 
fluences, and  they  were  therefore  prized  more  for 
their  occult  virtue  than  for  their  brilliancy  and 
beauty.  In  Europe,  too,  they  constituted  an  im- 
portant part  of  mediaeval  pharmacopoeias,  and  were 
to  be  found  side  by  side  with  mummy  dust,  "  eye 
of  newt  and  toe  of  frog,"  and  many  nasty  and 
nauseous  compounds  in  every  well-regulated  apothe- 
cary's shop.  Popular  superstition  has  not  yet 
ceased  to  endow  bufonite  or  toadstone  with 
wonderful  medical  and  necromantic  properties. 

The  urim  and  thummim  (light  and  perfection) 
in  the  breastplate  of  the  Jewish  high-priest  were 
precious  stones  remarkable  for  their  luminousness 
and  purity,  and,  like  the  sacred  scarabaeus  worn  by 
the  Egyptian  hierophant,  had  a  mystical  meaning 
and  were  consulted  as  oracles.     In  what  manner 


In    Ecclesiastical    Architecture        35 

the  divine  will  was  communicated  through  them  is 
not  known ;  it  is  probable  that  the  priest  by  stead- 
fastly gazing  on  them  was  thrown  into  an  ecstatic 
or  hypnotic  state,  in  which  he  saw  visions,  and 
uttered  words  that  were  interpreted  as  divine 
inspirations  and  supernatural  illuminations. 

It  is  curious  to  note  to  what  extent  the  once 
universal  belief  in  the  amuletic  efficacy  of  gems 
still  survives  in  modern  life  and  literature.  Thus 
the  amethyst,  as  its  name  implies,  neutralized  the 
intoxicating  properties  of  alcohol,  and  was  therefore 
wrought  into  cups,  from  which  one  could  quaff  the 
strongest  liquors  in  the  largest  draughts  without 
getting  drunk.  It  was  also  supposed,  perhaps  in 
consequence  of  this  anti-inebriant  quality,  to  render 
a  man  energetic  and  diligent  in  business  and  to 
insure  peace  of  mind.  The  agate  disenvenomed 
the  sting  of  serpents  and  scorpions,  and  when  worn 
on  the  left  hand  made  its  possessor  winsome  and 
wise;  if  placed  under  the  pillow  it  produced 
pleasant  dreams. 

Boccaccio  says  in  the  Decameron,  that  "the 
heliotrope  is  a  stone  of  such  strange  virtue  that  it 
causes  the  bearer  of  it  to  be  completely  concealed 
from  the  sight  of  all  present."  This  power  was 
also  ascribed  to  the  plant  of  the  same  name. 
Dante  describes  the  spirits  of  the  damned  in  the 
seventh  circle  of  hell  as  running  to  and  fro  naked 
and  affrighted  without  hope  of  hole  or  heliotrope  : 

"  Senza  sperar  pertugio  o  elitropia." 


36  Animal  Symbolism 

In  other  words,  they  found  no  cleft  in  which  to 
hide,  and  had  no  hehotrope  to  render  them  in- 
visible. The  reference  here  is  not  to  the  plant,  but 
to  the  mineral.  The  ruby  absorbed  morbid  humours, 
and  was  an  antidote  for  catarrh  and  unrequited 
love ;  no  wonder  then  that  it  also  made  a  man 
socially  attractive  and  companionable.  The  car- 
buncle protected  the  wearer  against  the  fatal  look 
of  the  basilisk  and  the  fascinations  of  the  evil  eye, 
counteracted  the  virulence  of  poisons,  purified  the 
air  from  pestilential  vapours,  and,  when  worn  as  a 
necklace,  was  preventive  of  epilepsy.  Chalcedony 
imparted  moral  strength  and  courage  to  resist  all 
evil  enticements ;  the  variety  of  it  known  as  car- 
nelian  was  believed  to  be  effective  in  cheering  the 
heart  by  its  soothing  action  on  the  bile  and  the 
blood.  The  topaz  kept  the  soul  pure  and  chaste, 
and  is  etymologically  related  to  the  Sanskrit  tapas, 
a  general  term  for  the  purifying  process  by  which 
the  Indian  ascetic  purges  his  spirit  and  frees  him- 
self from  sensual  desires  and  worldly  affections. 
It  was  thought  to  exert  a  calming  influence  upon 
lunatics,  and,  if  thrown  into  a  boiling  pot,  to  stop 
ebullition.  With  a  topaz  in  his  armpit,  a  person 
was  deemed  capable  of  passing  unsinged  through 
the  hottest  flames,  and  undergoing  with  safety  the 
severest  ordeal  of  fire ;  for  this  reason  witches  were 
carefully  examined  before  being  burned,  lest  they 
might  have  recourse  to  this  means  of  impunity. 
This  stone  was  often  given  as  a  mark  of  friendship, 
and  especially  as  a  pledge  of  troth,  since  it  was 


In    Ecclesiastical    Architecture        37 

supposed  to  promote  fidelity.  The  lapis  lazuli  was 
used  as  a  necklace  for  children,  because  it  made 
them  fearless  and  truthful ;  corals  were  employed 
in  the  same  manner,  because  they  warded  off 
sorcerous  arts  and  withstood  the  powers  of  witch- 
craft. Jasper  produced  clearness  and  keenness  of 
vision,  stanched  blood,  healed  dropsy  and  dyspepsia, 
and  was  an  effective  febrifuge.  Chrysoprase  cured 
heart-affections  both  physical  and  mental.  Beryl 
acted  as  a  cholagogue,  and  as  a  natural  result  of 
its  cathartic  and  tonic  qualities  developed  a  cheer- 
ful and  courageous  spirit.  Rock-crystal  or  "  ice- 
stone,"  as  it  was  popularly  called,  quenched  thirst, 
prevented  vertigo,  and  enabled  women  to  suckle 
their  children.  The  necklace  of  clear  rock-crystal, 
still  commonly  worn  by  wet-nurses,  is  a  survival  of 
the  belief  in  the  lactific  virtue  of  this  variety  of 
limpid  quartz. 

The  association  of  precious  stones  with  the 
months  of  the  year  as  amulets  and  promoters  of 
good  fortune  seems  to  have  originated  at  an  early 
date  in  Arabia.  In  accordance  with  this  notion 
the  hyacinth  or  red  zircon  was  worn  in  January, 
the  amethyst  in  February,  the  heliotrope  or  blood- 
stone in  March,  the  sapphire  and  diamond  in  April, 
the  emerald  in  May,  the  agate  in  June,  the  carnelian 
in  July,  the  onyx  in  August,  the  chrysolite  in  Sep- 
tember, the  aqua  marine  and  opal  in  October,  the 
topaz  in  November,  and  the  chrysoprase  and 
turquoise  in  December.  Thus  the  magic  power  of 
the  stones  serve  to  protect  their  wearers,  and  to 


38  Animal  Symbolism 

communicate  to  them  the  hidden  properties  with 
which  these  gems  were  supposed  to  be  endowed. 
In  modern  Hterature  this  theme  has  been  treated 
most  fully  and  suggestively,  perhaps,  by  Theodor 
Korner  in  his  poem  Die  Monatssteine,  written  in 
1 8 10. 

Far  more  important  for  our  present  purpose  than 
the  magical  and  medical  properties  of  precious 
stones  is  their  significance  as  symbols  of  theological 
doctrines  and  Christian  graces.  In  a  mediaeval 
German  poem  "Concerning  the  Heavenly  Jeru- 
salem" (Diemer:  Deutsche  Gedickte,  pp.  361-372), 
based  on  the  treatise  De  Lapidibus  of  Marbodius, 
and  on  the  twenty-first  chapter  of  Revelation,  we 
have  a  theological  mineralogy  corresponding  to  the 
theological  zoology  of  the  Physiologiis.  The  two 
verses  (Rev.  xxi.  19,  20)  that  make  mention  of  the 
twelve  stones  with  which  the  foundations  of  the 
wall  of  the  mystical  city  were  garnished,  are 
expanded  into  more  than  two  hundred  lines  of  the 
poem,  consisting  chiefly  of  extremely  far-fetched 
allegory.  Thus  jasper  is  the  foundation  of  the 
Church,  and  acts  as  a  preservative  against  hurtful 
phantasms  and  devilish  wiles ;  it  is  of  a  green 
colour,  and  signifies  those  who  foster  the  faith, 
never  letting  it  wither  away  and  grow  dry  and 
dead,  but  always  keeping  it  alive.  Sapphire  has 
a  heavenly  hue,  and  symbolizes  those  who,  although 
on  the  earth,  have  their  thoughts  fixed  on  heavenly 
things.  Chalcedony  shows  its  lustre  only  in  the 
open  air,  and  typifies  those  who  fast  and  pray  in 


In    Ecclesiastical    Architecture        39 

secret,  but  whose  righteousness  shines  forth  among 
men.     Emerald  is  native  to  a  cold  and  arid  region, 
inhabited    only    by    griffins    and    one-eyed    men 
{nionoculi),   who    are    constantly    fighting    for    the 
possession  of  this  stone.     It  surpasses  all  gems  and 
herbs  in  greenness,  and  symbolizes   the  freshness 
and  vigour  of  Christian  piety  as  opposed  to  the 
coldness  and  barrenness  of  infidelity.     The  griffins 
are  the  demons  that,  in  the  form  of  winged  lions, 
flew  aloft  on   the   pinions  of   pride  and    fell  from 
heaven  into  the  abyss  of  hell  for  their  misdeeds. 
Their  monoculous    antagonists    are  those  who  do 
not  walk  in  two  ways,  are  not  double-dealing,  do 
not  serve  two  masters,  are  not  given  to  duplicity, 
but  who  have  an  eye  single  to  the  glory  of  God, 
are  single-minded,  seeking  with  oneness  of  purpose 
to  hold  fast  the  jewel  of  faith,  which  the  demons 
would    wrest    from    them.     Sardonyx    has    three 
colours,  black  below,  white  in  the  middle,  and  red 
above ;  it  is  a  type  of  those  who  suffer  for  Christ's 
sake,  and,  although  pure  and  spotless,  are  vile  and 
sinful  in  their  own  eyes.     Sardius  is  deep  red,  and 
signifies    the    blood    of    the    martyrs.     Chrysolite 
glistens  like  gold  and  emits  scintillations,  and  is  an 
emblem  of  those  who  let  their  light  shine  in  word 
and  deed.     Beryl  glitters  like  the  sea  in  the  sun- 
light, and  illustrates  the  illuminating  power  of  the 
divine    spirit.     After    interpreting    in  this    manner 
the  symbolism  of  the  other  stones,  topaz,  chryso- 
prasus,  jacinth,  and  amethyst,  on  which  the  New 
Jerusalem    is   built,  the   poet   turns   homilist,  and 


40  Animal  Symbolism 

warns  his  readers  that  they  can  enter  the  heavenly 
city  only  by  practising  the  virtues  which  the  stones 
shadow  forth : 

"  Nu  habent  ir  alle  wol  uernomen, 
Wi  ir  in  di  burch  sculet  chomen." 

No  doubt  this  symbolism  is  utterly  fantastic  and 
absurd,  and  would  be  hardly  worthy  of  notice  were 
it  not  for  the  fact  that  it  holds  a  prominent  place 
in  sacred  art,  and  determines,  to  a  considerable 
degree,  the  kinds  of  stones  used  in  ecclesiastical 
architecture,  as  well  as  in  ornamenting  sacerdotal 
vestments,  crucifixes,  rosaries,  chalices,  and  other 
sacramental  utensils. 

Speculations  of  this  sort  began  to  pervade  Chris- 
tian hermeneutic  theology  at  a  very  early  period, 
and  are  traceable  in  the  oldest  apocryphal  litera- 
ture of  the  New  Testament.  In  the  latter  half  of 
the  fourth  century  Epiphanius,  Bishop  of  Cyprus, 
wrote  a  book  "  On  the  Twelve  Stones  in  Aaron's 
Robes,"  and  another  "  On  the  Twelve  Stones  set 
in  the  Priest's  Breastplate."  The  same  allegorical 
spirit  of  interpretation  is  shown  by  Anselm,  Arch- 
bishop of  Canterbury,  and  by  Ambrosius,  in  their 
commentaries  on  the  Apocalypse. 

A  similar  tendency  manifests  itself  in  the  sym- 
bolical and  analogical  use  of  numbers,  which  sought 
to  trace  a  recondite  relation  between  the  seven  seals 
of  the  Apocalypse,  the  seven  petitions  of  the  Pater 
Noster,  the  seven  gifts  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  the  seven 
beatitudes  of  the  Sermon  on  the  Mount,  the  seven 


In    Ecclesiastical    Architecture       41 

sacraments,  the  seven  prototypes  in  the  Old  Testa- 
ment, the  seven  heavens,  the  seven  days  of  creation, 
tlie  seven  ages  of  man,  the  seven  hberal  arts,  the 
seven  signs  marking  the  birth  of  Christ,  and  m.any 
other  sevenfold  things.  This  subject  is  fully  treated 
in  an  old  poem  entitled  Dciis  Septiformis,  or  the 
Septiform  God. 

A  curious  specimen  of  biblical  exegesis  in  a 
poem  of  the  eleventh  century,  called  Praise  of 
Solomon  (Diemer,  pp.  107-114),  explains  how  it 
was  possible  to  construct  the  Temple  so  that "  there 
was  neither  hammer  nor  axe,  nor  any  tool  of  iron 
heard  in  the  house  while  it  was  building."  A 
dragon,  which  had  caused  a  severe  drought  by 
drinking  all  the  water  in  the  springs  and  wells  of 
Jerusalem,  evaded  every  effort  to  capture  it  until 
Solomon  ordered  the  empty  wells  and  cisterns  to 
be  filled  with  a  mixture  of  wine  and  mead.  As 
the  result  of  this  stratagem  the  beast  became  so 
intoxicated  that  it  was  easily  taken  and  fettered. 
On  recovering  from  its  drunkenness  it  promised 
the  king  that  if  he  would  set  it  free,  it  would  tell 
him  how  he  could  complete  the  Temple  without 
the  unpleasant  din  and  clatter  of  masons  and  car- 
penters. The  wise  sovereign  accepted  this  pro- 
posal, and  learned  that  there  was  an  animal  on 
Mount  Lebanon,  with  the  entrails  of  which  one 
could  cut  the  hardest  stones.  Hunters  were  sent 
out,  who  succeeded  in  killing  this  wonderful  crea- 
ture, and  by  means  of  its  intestines  the  workmen 
were  able  to  construct  the  edifice  as  by  enchant- 


42  Animal  Symbolism 

ment.  The  poet  then  describes  the  splendours  of 
Solomon's  court,  to  which  an  allegorical  interpret- 
ation is  given  :  Solomon  is  God,  who  created  the 
world  noiselessly,  and  in  a  breath,  the  Queen  of 
Sheba  is  the  Church,  and  the  courtiers  and  nobles 
are  priests  and  bishops.  The  author  gives  as  his 
authority  for  this  exegesis  a  gentleman  called  Hier- 
onymus  {ein  herro  Jiiz  heronimns),  evidently  referring 
to  the  famous  ascetic  and  saint  of  the  fourth  century. 
Indeed,  the  term  "  herro "  is  admirably  suited  to 
the  character  of  this  remarkable  man,  who  com- 
bined the  austerity  of  the  monk  with  the  elegance 
of  the  man  of  the  world,  and  thereby  rendered 
himself  so  attractive  to  the  fine  ladies  of  Roman 
society  that  many  of  them  exchanged  their  rich 
apparel  and  luxurious  homes  for  a  hair-shirt  and 
an  anchoretic  life  in  the  desert. 

Pineda,  in  his  Salomojt  Praroins,  published  in 
eight  books  at  Mayence  in  1813,  describes  a  worm 
called  samir,  whose  blood  had  the  property  of  soften- 
ing stones  and  glass,  so  that  they  could  be  cut  and 
carved  like  wax.  This  discovery,  we  are  told,  was 
made  accidentally  by  Solomon,  who  kept  a  young 
ostrich  in  a  glass  cage ;  but  the  parent  bird  brought 
the  samir  from  the  desert,  and  by  means  of  its  blood 
cut  the  glass  and  set  the  captive  free.  This  circum- 
stance was  reported  to  Solomon,  who  made  further 
experiments  with  this  substance,  and  invented  a  new 
process  of  working  in  marble  and  engraving  gems. 
According  to  another  account,  Solomon  had  a 
plant  which  had  been  brought  to  him  by  a  foreign 


In    Ecclesiastical    Architecture       43 

embassy,  the  juice  of  which  possessed  the  same 
lithotomic  quaHties.  These  legends  arose  evidently 
as  inferences  from  the  passages  already  quoted 
concerning  the  wise  king's  vast  knowledge  of 
natural  history  and  his  method  of  building  the 
Temple.  The  Hebrew  monarch  got  the  credit  of 
all  the  marvellous  stories  of  this  kind  which  were 
current  in  the  middle  ages,  for  the  same  reason 
that  mediaeval  chronicles  made  Charlemagne  the 
hero  of  all  feats  of  valour  and  deeds  of  chivalry ; 
and  American  newspapers  ascribe  all  good  jokes 
afloat  to  Abraham  Lincoln. 

The  ceremony  of  blessing  jewels  used  to  be  per- 
formed by  the  kings  of  England  in  Westminster 
Abbey  on  Good  Friday,  and  was  supposed  to  im- 
part to  these  precious  stones  a  still  greater  healing 
power  peculiarly  efficacious  in  curing  cramps  and 
epilepsy.  But  long  before  this  custom  came  to 
be  observed,  jewels,  as  we  have  already  seen,  played 
an  important  part  in  ancient  and  mediaeval  materia 
medica  as  antidotes  and  amulets,  and  especially 
as  antitoxicons.  In  a  didactic  poem  entitled  De 
Gemmis,  and  written  by  Marbodius,  Bishop  of 
Rennes,  in  the  latter  half  of  the  eleventh  century, 
more  than  sixty  precious  stones  are  mentioned,  and 
their  properties  described ;  the  work  is,  however, 
chiefly  a  compilation  and  Christianization  of  the 
opinions  of  Aristotle,  Pliny,  Galen,  Isidore,  Diosco- 
rides,  Avicenna,  and  other  authorities  on  this  sub- 
ject, since  his  sole  aim  is  religious  instruction  and 
edification. 


44  Animal  Symbolism 

A  German  poet  of  the  thirteenth  century,  Der 
Strieker,  ridicules  the  popular  belief  in  the  magical 
and  medicinal  virtues  of  precious  stones  as  a  foolish 
superstition,  and  thus  shows  himself  to  have  been 
far  in  advance  not  only  of  the  ignorant  masses, 
but  also  of  the  cultured  classes  and  scholars  of 
his   day. 

Among  modern  writers  Justinus  Kerner  has 
devoted  himself  most  earnestly  to  this  province 
of  investigation  and  speculation.  He  maintains 
that  in  primitive  times,  when  man  lived  under 
simpler  conditions  and  nearer  to  nature  than  at 
present,  he  was  far  more  susceptible  to  her  subtle 
influences,  so  that  "  even  the  spirit  of  the  stone,  now 
grown  dull  and  sluggish,  was  capable  of  affecting 
him."  Modern  culture,  he  adds,  has  materialized 
man,  and  "  swathed  his  soul  in  a  threefold  girdle 
of  grossness,  so  that  only  mechanical  and  chemical 
forces  can  act  upon  it ;  for  this  reason  he  is  now 
driven  to  the  use  of  poisons,  the  strongest  elements 
in  the  three  realms  of  nature,  as  medicaments  and 
healing  remedies,  they  alone  being  able  to  pene- 
trate the  insulating  earthy  mass  which  prevents 
spirit  from  operating  directly  upon  spirit."  If 
stones,  he  continues,  do  not  manifest  the  same 
virtues  now  as  formerly,  the  fault  is  in  ourselves. 
In  our  present  vitiated  state  they  exert  their  real 
and  inherent  powers  only  when  we  are  under  the 
influence  of  magnetism,  which  corresponds,  in  a 
certain  degree,  to  the  original  and  normal  condition 
of  mankind,  since  it  renders  the  soul  more  free  from 


In    Ecclesiastical    Architecture       45 

the  bondage  of  the  body.  Stones  nowadays  pro- 
duce upon  magnetized  persons  the  same  effects  that 
were  ascribed  to  them  in  ancient  times,  for  ex- 
ample in  the  Orphic  LitJiiaka,  where  it  is  said 
that  nature  has  endued  them  with  greater  virtues 
than  roots  or  herbs.  The  same  view  is  expressed 
by  Schubert  in  his  Natural  History,  where  the 
mineral  kingdom  is  represented  as  a  realm  full  of 
occult  affinities  and  spiritual  suggestions,  and  mys- 
tical relations  to  the  microcosm,  man.  Schubert 
also  declares  that  the  secret  and  subtle  properties 
of  stones  affect  the  human  organism  most  power- 
fully when  it  is  in  a  magnetic  or  somnambulic 
state. 

In  the  Physiologus  (the  character  and  contents 
of  which  will  be  fully  considered  in  a  subsequent 
chapter),  as  well  as  in  mediaeval  bestiaries,  we  find 
the  queerest  exegetical  applications  of  these  super- 
stitious notions  intermingled  with  utterly  irrelevant 
citations  of  Holy  Writ,  such  as  one  would  now 
hear  only  from  the  lips  of  a  Hard-Shell  Baptist 
preacher  or  an  old  plantation  negro  exhorter. 
Thus  the  diamond,  or  adamant  as  it  is  called,  is 
taken  as  the  type  of  Christ,  because  it  shines  in 
the  dark,  as  it  is  written  in  Isaiah :  "  The  people 
that  walked  in  darkness  have  seen  a  great  light; 
they  that  dwell  in  the  land  of  the  shadow  of  death, 
upon  them  hath  the  light  shined."  Again,  we  are 
told  that  the  diamond  is  so  hard  that  neither  iron 
nor  stone  can  penetrate  it,  but  it  penetrates  all  sub- 
stances, "for  all  things  were  made  by  Him,  and 


46  Animal  Symbolism 

without  Him  was  not  anything  made  that  was 
made."  Likewise  the  apostles  have  said  of  it :  "I 
saw  a  man  upon  a  wall  of  adamant,  and  in  his 
hand  a  stone  of  adamant."  (Here  the  apostles 
are  confounded  with  the  prophets,  as  the  quota- 
tion is  from  the  Septuagint  version  of  Amos  vii.  7.) 
We  are  furthermore  informed  that  "the  diamond 
can  be  cut  and  polished  only  after  it  has  been 
soaked  in  the  warm  blood  of  a  he-goat."  In  this 
case  the  he-goat  is  typical  of  the  crucified  Christ, 
and  the  diamond  represents  the  hardness  of  a  world 
stubborn  in  sin,  which  nothing  but  the  warm  blood 
of  the  Saviour  can  render  tractable  and  reformable. 
As  early  as  the  third  century  St.  Cyprian,  Bishop 
of  Carthage,  in  his  Liber  de  Duplici  Marty rio, 
accepts  this  notion  on  the  authority  of  the  natural- 
ists of  his  day,  and  uses  it  to  illustrate  the  efficacy 
of  the  Atonement.  "  Those  who  are  versed  in  the 
knowledge  of  natural  things  tell  us  that  adamant 
does  not  yield  to  the  hardness  of  steel,  and  can  be 
malleated  only  after  being  macerated  in  the  blood 
of  a  he-goat.  But  no  adamant  is  harder  than  the 
stony  heart  of  the  sinner ;  nevertheless  the  blood  of 
Christ  softens  this  stony  heart,  this  iron  heart,  this 
heart  harder  than  adamant,"  In  this  way  the 
marvels  of  the  material  creation  were  made  to 
elucidate  the  mysteries  of  the  spiritual  world,  and 
to  confirm  the  truths  of  divine  revelation.  The 
Physiologns  also  asserts  that  no  demon  can  enter 
a  house  or  habitation  of  man  in  which  there  is 
a  diamond,  and   adds  :   "  So  it  is  with    the  heart 


In    Ecclesiastical    Architecture       47 

wherein  Christ  dwells,  whose  presence  protects 
it  against  all  approaches  and  assaults  of  the 
devil." 

It  is  said  of  the  pearl-fishers,  that  they  attach  an 
agate  to  a  cord  and  let  it  down  into  the  sea,  where 
it  is  drawn  towards  the  pearls  by  a  mysterious 
attraction,  so  that  by  following  the  cord  the  fishers 
discover  them  and  remove  them  from  their  shells. 
Here  the  agate  typifies  John  the  Baptist,  who 
pointed  the  way  to  the  pearl  of  great  price,  saying  : 
"  Behold  the  Lamb  of  God,  which  taketh  away  the 
sin  of  the  world."  The  author  then  tells  how  the 
pearl  is  produced.  The  sea-creature,  which  con- 
tains this  precious  substance,  is  described  as  having 
two  appendages  like  wings,  and  has  therefore  been 
mistaken  for  a  bird ;  it  is  evident,  however,  that 
a  bivalve  is  meant.  Just  before  the  dawn  this 
oyster  comes  cut  of  the  deep  water  to  the  shore, 
and,  opening  its  shell,  receives  a  drop  of  dew 
from  heaven,  which  the  rays  of  the  rising  sun 
change  into  a  pearl.  The  reader  would  naturally 
expect  this  story  to  be  a  symbolism  of  the  Incarna- 
tion or  the  Immaculate  Conception;  but  the  writer 
indulges  in  an  elaborate  theological,  or  rather  eccle- 
siastical, interpretation,  in  which  the  sea  is  the 
world,  the  fishers  are  the  saints  and  doctors  of  the 
Church,  and  the  bivalve  stands  for  the  Old  and 
New  Testaments  joined  together  into  one  Bible  or 
Book  of  Revelation,  and  containing  the  pure  pearls 
of  divine  truth.  As  we  shall  have  occasion  to 
observe,  the  similitudes  of  the  Physiologiis  are  not 


48  Animal  Symbolism 

only  hopelessly  and  often  ludicrously  mixed,  but 
readily  shift  at  every  turn  of  thought  like  the 
figures  of  a  kaleidoscope. 

Dante  in  one  of  his  sonnets  (xxxv.)  uses  a 
metaphor  based  on  this  theory  of  the  genesis  of 
the  pearl  in  a  modified  form,  and  implying  that 
it  is  an  emanation  of  the  stars  :  cojne  de  stella 
margherita.  A  mediaeval  Spanish  poet  also  speaks 
of  the  pearl  as  having  its  origin  in  a  dew-drop, 
and  refers  to  St.  Isidore  of  Seville  as  his  authority, 
who,  he  says,  was  well  informed  in  such  matters : 

"  Ca  assi  lo  diz  Sant  Esidro  que  sopo  la  materia." 

Another  type  of  Christ  is  the  Indian  stone 
{kihos  IvhiKos),  which  was  supposed  to  cure  dropsy 
by  absorbing  morbid  humours  and  serous  fluids 
in  the  body;  "so,  too,  Christ  heals  us  who  are 
spiritually  dropsical,  having  the  waters  of  the  devil 
collected  in  our  hearts."  There  is  also  an  Indian 
stone  called  eutokios  or  birth-easing,  which  is 
round  like  a  nut  and  rings  like  a  bell.  When  the 
female  vulture  is  with  young,  she  sits  on  this  stone, 
as  soon  as  she  begins  to  feel  the  pangs  of  parturi- 
tion, and  its  virtue  is  such  as  to  enable  her  to 
bring  forth  without  the  pains  of  travail.  In  like 
manner  Christ  was  bom  of  the  Virgin  unbegotten 
and  without  suffering.  And  as  the  eutokios  is 
hollow  and  has  within  it  another  stone,  which  gives 
out  a  pleasant  sound,  so  the  Godhead  of  our 
Lord  was  hidden  in  His  body  and  yet  made  itself 


In    Ecclesiastical    Architecture       49 

manifest.  In  this  connection  the  expositor  quotes 
several  passages  of  the  Scriptures,  such  as  Mat- 
thew xxi.  42,  and  Isaiah  xxvi.  18,  which  do  not 
bear  the  slightest  relevancy  to  the  doctrine  he 
wishes  to  enforce. 

What  the  Physiologus  relates  of  the  vulture  is 
reported  by  Pliny  of  the  eagle,  and  the  stone  is 
called  aetites  or  eagle-stone,  and  is  said  to  have 
been  found  frequently  in  the  aerie  of  the  king  of 
birds.  We  may  add  that  in  the  mediaeval  Walden- 
sian  bestiary  a  more  edifying  interpretation  of  the 
fable  is  given,  which  is  explained  as  symbolizing 
the  help  of  the  Holy  Spirit  in  bringing  forth  good 
works. 

It  is  a  noteworthy  mark  of  ignorance  that  both 
Pliny  and  the  Physiologus  speak  of  these  accipi- 
trine  birds  as  though  they  were  viviparous  instead 
of  oviparous  animals,  and  were  to  be  classed  with 
mammals  rather  than  with  fowls. 

Among  fabulous  stones  the  so-called  terrobuli, 
more  properly  pyroboli  (Tivpo/iokot  A1801)  or  fire- 
stones,  play  a  very  prominent  part  in  Christian 
symbolism  and  art.  They  are  said  to  be  found 
on  a  certain  mountain  of  the  Orient,  and  to  be 
male  and  female.  So  long  as  they  are  far  apart 
there  is  no  perceptible  heat  in  them,  but  if  they 
are  brought  near  to  each  other,  fierce  flames  burst 
forth  and  the  whole  mountain  is  set  on  fire.  Then 
comes  the  moralization  designed  to  inculcate  the 
virtue  of  monasticism.  "Therefore,  ye  men  of  God, 
who  would   lead    a  pure   life,  separate   yourselves 

E 


5° 


Animal    Symbolism 


far  from  women,  in  order  that  the  fires  of  lust  may 
not  be  kindled  in  your  hearts  ;  for  these  carnal 
passions  are  emissaries  of  Satan,  sent  to  assail  not 
only  holy  men,  but  also  chaste  women."  Adam, 
Joseph,  Samson,  Solomon,  Eve,  and  Susanna  are 
then  adduced  as  examples  of  the  wiles  and  witchery 
of  women. 

The  terrobuli  are  usually  represented  in  art  as  the 
naked  or  scantily- drapecj. 
figures  of  a  man  and  a 
woman,  often  in  the  rude 
form  of  a  hermes,  stand- 
ing near  each  other  and 
They    occur    in    miniature 


Terrobuli.     [Bestiary.) 


enveloped  in  fiam.es. 
illustrations  of  mediaeval  bestiaries,  as  for  example 
in  a  manuscript  of  the  tenth  century  in  the 
Arsenal  Library,  and  one  of  the  thirteenth  century 
in  the  National  Library  of  Paris,  and  a  third  of 
the  fourteenth  century  in   the  Royal    Library   of 


Sculpture  on  arch  of  doorway  of  old  Norman  church  at  Alne. 


Brussels.  Representations  of  them  in  ecclesiastical 
architecture  are  comparatively  rare ;  there  is,  how- 
ever, a  fine  specimen  of  the  terrobuli  sculptured  on 


In    Ecclesiastical    Architecture       51 

one  of  the  voussoirs  or  arch-stones  over  the  south 


Sculpture  on  arch  of  doorway  of  old  Norman  church  at  AIne. 


entrance  to  an    old    Norman   church  at   Alne   in 
Yorkshire. 


Sculpture  on  arch  of  door\vay  of  old  Norman  church  at  AIne. 


CHAPTER   II 

ORIGIN  AND  HISTORY  OF  THE  'PHYSIOLOGUS  ' 

Plastic  and  pictorial  representations  of  animals  in  Christian 
art — Literary  sources  of  these  representations — Clavis  of 
St.  Melito — Epistle  of  Barnabas — The  Physiologus  com- 
piled by  an  Alexandrian  Greek — The  Hexahemera  of  the 
Fathers — Adam  as  the  author  of  a  natural  history — 
Popular  character  of  the  Physiologus — Origen  as  an 
exegetist — Roger  Bacon's  views  of  the  place  of  animals 
in  Scripture — Expositions  and  amplifications  of  the  Phy- 
siologus by  Epiphanius,  St.  Isidore,  Petrus  Damiani,  and 
others — Anastasius  Sinaita's  Anagogical  Contemplations 
— Latin  poem  on  beasts  and  their  mystical  meaning  by 
Theobald  of  Plaisance,  and  the  English  paraphrase — ■ 
The  Physiologus  translated  into  Latin,  Ethiopic,  Arabic, 
Armenian,  Syriac,  Anglo-Saxon,  Icelandic,  and  all  the 
principal  modern  languages  of  Europe — Brief  descrip- 
tions of  these  versions — Prudentius'  poems  Hamartigenia 
and  Psychomachia — The  phcEnix,  a  symbol  of  solar 
worship  used  to  illustrate  the  Christian  doctrine  of  the 
Resurrection — French  bestiaries  :  Philippe  de  Thaun's 
Le  Livre  des  Creatures^  Peter  of  Picardy's  prose  version 
of  the  Physiologus^  and  Le  Bestiaire  Divin  of  William,  a 
priest  of  Normandy — Encyclopaedias  of  natural  history 
based  on  the  Physiologus :  Thomas  de  Cantimpre's 
Liber  de  Naturis  Reruin,  the  Speculum  Naturale  of 
Vincent  de  Beauvais,  Liber  de  Proprietatibus  Rerum  of 
Bartholomaeus  Anglicus,  Hortus  Deliciarum  of  Herrade 
de  Landsberg,  and  other  compilations — The  church 
edifice  an  emblem  of  the  human  soul — Symbolism  of  the 
raven  and  the  dove — Albertus  Magnus'  criticism  of  the 
Physiologus. 

52 


Animal    Symbolism  53 

Still  more  important  than  the  emblematic  sig- 
nificance of  precious  stones  is  the  place  assigned  to 
animals  in  physico-theology.  Christian  art,  from 
the  fourth  century,  furnishes  numerous  examples 
of  this  sort  of  symbolism,  as  may  be  seen  in  the 
oldest  churches  of  Rome  and  Ravenna,  and  in  the 
remains  of  early  sacred  monuments  now  preserved 
in  the  Museum  of  the  Lateran  and  in  similar 
archaeological  collections. 

The  literary  sources,  however,  from  which  the 
conceptions  embodied  in  these  plastic  and  pictorial 
representations  were  derived,  are  of  much  earlier 
date.  A  celebrated  work  of  this  kind  was  the 
Clavis  of  St.  Melito,  Bishop  of  Sardis  in  Asia 
Minor,  who  lived  in  the  latter  half  of  the  second 
century,  under  the  reign  of  Marcus  Aurelius.  It 
was  written  in  Greek,  but  now  exists  only  in  a 
Latin  translation,  or  rather  a  Latin  revision  and 
re-digest  of  the  original,  since  the  text  published 
by  Pitra  in  his  Spicilegmm  Solesmense  is  unques- 
tionably a  mere  re-hash  of  the  bishop's  book,  dating 
probably  from  the  eleventh  century. 

Still  earlier  is  the  epistle  ascribed  to  Barnabas, 
which,  although  not  composed  by  him,  belongs 
probably  to  the  latter  half  of  the  first  century. 
The  ninth  chapter  of  this  curious  allegorization 
of  the  Jewish  ceremonial  contains  a  list  of  the 
unclean  beasts  enumerated  in  the  Levitical  law 
(Deut.  xiv.),  with  an  explanation  of  their  spiritual 
significance.  The  chief  purpose  of  the  apocryphal 
epistle  was  to  counteract  the  Judaizing  tendency 


54  Animal  Symbolism 

in  primitive  Christianity,  and  to  this  end  the 
author  endeavoured  to  resolve  the  legal  and  ritual 
prescriptions  of  the  Old  Testament  into  mere  pre- 
figurations  and  prophecies  of  Christian  doctrines 
and  institutions,  and  thus  virtually  abolished  them 
by  spiritualizing  them.  Judaism  is  thereby  reduced 
to  a  foreshadowing  symbolism  of  the  new  religion, 
by  which  it  is  destined  to  be  superseded  and 
ultimately  set  aside. 

The  most  complete  and  systematic,  as  well  as 
the  most  popular  and  probably  the  oldest,  of  this 
class  of  exegetical  expositions  is  the  Physiologus 
or  "  Naturalist,"  as  we  would  call  it,  which  was  com- 
piled by  an  Alexandrian  Greek  from  a  great  variety 
of  sources,  and  doubtless  embodied  much  of  the 
priestly  wisdom  and  esoteric  science  of  ancient 
Egypt.  The  early  Christian  apologists  and  herme- 
neutists  seem  to  have  been  extraordinarily  fond  of 
this  kind  of  literature,  which  served  their  purpose 
as  an  application  of  the  supposed  facts  of  natural 
history  to  the  illustration  and  enforcement  of  moral 
precepts  and  theological  dogmas.  In  their  frequent 
references  to  this  work  they  evidently  assume  a 
general  knowledge  of  it  on  the  part  of  their  readers, 
and  it  is  probable  that  the  Physiologus  in  its  present 
form  is  made  up  of  fragments  of  several  books  of  a 
similar  character,  which  were  not  only  used  as  text- 
books in  schools,  but  were  intended  for  the  edifica^ 
tion  of  old  and  young,  and  were  therefore  more 
simple  and  attractive  in  style  than  the  heavy 
Hexahemera  or  expositions  of  the  six  days'  work 


In    Ecclesiastical    Architecture        55 

of  creation,  in  which  Papias,  Justin  the  Martyr,  St. 
Theophilus,  St.  Basil  of  Cesarea,  Eustathius,  and 
other  patristic  theologians  delighted  to  display 
their  ponderous  and  perverse  erudition.  In  these 
elaborate  commentaries  the  fable  often  serves  as 
the  text  for  a  sermon,  or  suggests  the  theme  of  a 
dissertation.  Thus  in  the  Hexahemei'on  of  Ambro- 
sius  the  story  of  the  copulation  of  the  viper  with 
the  lamprey  furnishes  the  subject  of  a  treatise  on 
conjugal  love.  In  like  manner  the  crow  is  chosen 
as  the  type  and  pattern  of  hospitality,  the  stork  is 
an  example  of  filial  piety,  the  swallow  of  maternal 
care  and  domestic  content  even  in  poverty,  while 
the  fish,  which  devour  each  other,  are  emblems  of 
greediness.^ 

The  Jews  claim  to  have  had  a  natural  history  by 


^  According  to  Luther  the  wisdom  of  the  Magi  was  of  this 
kind.  In  his  sermon  on  Matthew  ii.  1-12,  he  says  :  "  Denn 
die  hohen  Schulen  riihmen  sich  auch  wie  sie  die  natiirHche 
Kunst  lehren,  die  sie  nennen  Philosophia,  und  lehren  doch 
nicht  AtYenspiel,  sondern  vergiftig  Irrthum  und  eitel  Traum. 
Denn  natiirHche  Kunst,  die  vorzeiten  Magia  hiess,  und  jetzt 
Physiologia,  ist  die,  so  man  lernet  der  Natur  Krafte  und 
Werk  erkennen  ;  als  dass  ein  Hirsch  die  Schlangen  mit 
seinem  Athem  durch  die  Nasen  aus  der  Steinritzen  reisst 
und  todet  und  frisset,  und  darnach  vor  grosser  Hitze  der 
Gift  nach  einem  frischen  Born  diirstet,  wie  solches  der  42  Ps. 
V.  2  anzeigt.  Item,  wie  ein  Wiesel  die  Schlange  heraus-locket, 
wenn  es  vor  der  Schlangen  Loch  wiebelt  mit  seinem 
Schwiinzlein,  und  dann  die  Schlange  erziirnet  heraus  kreucht 
so  lauret  das  Wieslein  oben  iiber  dem  Loche,  und  die 
Schlange  iiber  sich  siehet  nach  ihrem  Feind,  so  schlagt  das 
Wieslein  seine  Zahne  der  Schlangen  in  den  Hals  neben  die 
Vergift  und  erwiirget  also  seinen  Feind  in  seinem  eigenen 
Loche.     In  solchen  Kiinsten  haben  die  Magier  studiret." 


56  Animal  Symbolism 

Adam,  who  as  the  man  first  created  and  especially 
commissioned  by  God  to  give  to  the  animals  names 
corresponding  to  their  qualities,  was  supposed  to 
have  been  intimately  acquainted  with  them,  and 
might  therefore  be  regarded  as  an  original  and 
infallible  authority  on  the  subject. 

The  fact  that  the  Physiologus  is  usually  cited  in 
the  singular  number  (6  ^uatoAoyos)  has  been  thought 
to  imply  that  the  work  was  the  production  of  a 
single  author;  but  this  inference  is  wholly  un- 
warranted, since  the  word  may  be  used  generically 
to  denote  naturalists  as  a  class.  Indeed,  some  of 
the  Fathers  use  the  plural  form,  as,  for  example, 
Epiphanius  in  his  commentary  on  the  injunction  : 
"  Be  ye,  therefore,  wise  as  serpents,"  cited  in  his 
Panarion  or  "  Bread  Basket,"  a  description  and 
refutation  of  the  heresies  of  his  time,  in  which  he 
quotes  what  the  Physiologists  say  (ais  ^atriv  ol 
^vfTioXoyoC)  concerning  the  habits  of  this  sagacious 
reptile. 

The  Physiologus  may  therefore  be  regarded  as  a 
convenient  compendium  of  current  opinions  and 
ancient  traditions  touching  the  characteristics  of 
animals  and  plants,  which  served  as  a  manual  of 
instruction  in  zoology  and  botany  with  moral 
reflections,  so  as  to  include  also  the  province  of 
ethics.  In  the  hands  of  Christian  teachers  it  was 
made  wholly  subordinate  to  hermeneutical  and 
homiletical  purposes,  and  became  a  mere  treatise 
on  theology,  interspersed  with  pious  exhortation. 
Whether  the  statements  it  contained  were  authentic 


In    Ecclesiastical    Architecture        57 


or  not  was  something  which  the  expositor  did  not 
bother  himself  about.  It  was  not  for  him  to  ques- 
tion the  assertion  of  the  naturaHst,  but  to  accept  it 
as  one  accepts  an  apologue  for  the  sake  of  the  lesson 
it  teaches,  without  any  thought  of  the  actuality  or 
probability  of  the  occurrence.  Indeed,  St.  Basil 
expressly  declares  it  to  be  a  matter  of  less  moment 
to  ascertain  whether  such  creatures  as  griffins  and 
unicorns  really  exist,  than  to  discover  what  religious 
tenets  they  inculcate  and  confirm  ;  and  St.  Augus- 
tine affirms  that  it  is  not  for  us  to  find  out  whether 
these  marvellous  stories  are  true  or  false,  but  rather 
to  give  heed  to  their  spiritual  significance.  Thus 
he  says,  as  regards  the  statement  that  the  eagle 
breaks  off  its  beak  against  a  stone  when  it  gets  too 
long  :  "  Sive  ilia  vera  sunt  quae  dicuntur  de  aquila, 
sive  sit  fama  potius  hominum  quam  verit,  Veritas 
est  tamen  in  scripturis,  et  non  sine  causa  hoc 
dixerunt  scripturae.  Nos  quidquid  illud  significat 
faciamus  et  quam  sit  verum  non  laboremus." — In 
Psal  CI  I. 

Origen  was  inclined  to  treat  in  a  similar  manner 
all  the  events  recorded  in  the  Old  Testament, 
regarding  them,  not  as  historical  facts,  but  as 
religious  types  and  symbols.  Thus  he  characterizes 
the  idyl  of  Rebecca  as  "not  a  relation  of  actual 
occurrences,  but  a  concoction  of  mysteries."  This 
"  adamantine "  expositor  and  "  Father  of  biblical 
exegesis,"  as  he  has  been  called,  appears  in  his 
youthful  ardour  and  enthusiasm  to  have  interpreted 
the   words    of  Holy  Writ   with  strict  and  uncom- 


58  Animal    Symbolism 

promising  literalness,  and  to  have  practised  its 
teachings  in  this  spirit  with  a  blind  fanaticism  that 
is  said  to  have  led  to  self-mutilation  for  the  sake 
of  the  kingdom  of  heaven  (Matt.  xix.  12).  The 
cooling  of  his  ascetic  zeal  and  the  consequent 
repentance  of  his  rash  act  naturally  produced  in  his 
mind  a  powerful  reaction  against  the  bondage  of 
the  letter  of  the  Scriptures  in  favour  of  a  spiritual 
and  symbolical  system  of  exegesis,  of  which  he 
became  the  most  ingenious  and  daring  exponent. 

The  same  views  were  expressed  by  the  most 
eminent  and  sober-minded  physicist  of  the  middle 
ages,  the  Franciscan  friar  Roger  Bacon,  who,  in  his 
Opus  Majlis  (ed.  Jebb,  p.  39),  remarks :  "  All 
ancient  saints  and  sages  gather  in  their  expositions 
the  literal  sense  from  the  nature  and  properties  of 
things,  in  order  that  they  may  educe  therefrom  the 
spiritual  sense  by  suitable  adaptations  and  simili- 
tudes. Thus  Augustine  in  quoting  the  admonition  : 
'  Be  wise  as  serpents,'  says  that  our  Lord  meant 
by  these  words  that  as  the  serpent  exposes  its 
whole  body  for  the  protection  of  its  head,  so  the 
apostles  were  to  suffer  persecution  for  the  sake  of 
Christ,  who  is  their  head.  Every  creature,  indi- 
vidually and  generically,  from  the  heights  of  heaven 
to  the  end  of  the  same,  has  its  place  in  Scripture 
('  ponitur  in  scriptura ').  The  former  are  facts  in, 
nature  designed  to  illustrate  the  truths  contained  in 
the  latter  ;  and  the  words  of  revelation  bring  out 
these  truths  more  clearly  and  correctly  than  any 
philosophic  toil  can  do." 


In    Ecclesiastical    Architecture       59 

According  to  this  theory,  which  still  represents 
the  official  attitude  of  the  Catholic  Church  and  of 
many  orthodox  divines  among  Protestants,  there  is 
a  sort  of  pre-established  harmony  between  science 
and  theology,  which  can  be  disturbed  only  by  the 
aberrations  of  "  science  falsely  so  called."  True 
science,  on  the  contrary,  does  not  aspire  to  any 
higher  position  than  that  of  a  handmaid  to  theology, 
and  should  never  forget  her  essentially  servile  and 
ancillary  functions,  or  think  of  questioning  the 
supreme  and  infallible  authority  of  her  mistress, 
however  arrogantly  it  may  be  exercised. 

Towards   the   end  of  the    fourth    century,    the 

bigoted  polemic  and  bitter  persecutor  of  Origen's 

disciples,    Epiphanius,    Bishop    of    Constantia    in 

Cyprus,  is  said  to  have  written  an  exposition  of  the 

Physiologus  in  twenty-six  chapters,  and  a  work  of 

this  kind  attributed  to  him  was  printed  about  the 

middle    of  the    sixteenth  century  by  the   learned 

Augustine  friar  and  famous  poet  Ponce  de  Leon. 

The  same  subject  was  treated  early  in  the  seventh 

century  by  St.  Isidore,  Bishop  of  Seville,  in  his  great 

work  on  etymology  {Ongimwi  sen  etymologianuni 

lib.  XX.),  which  became  the  popular  encyclopaedia 

of  the  middle  ages,  and  the  chief  source  from  which 

the   authors  of  the  numerous  mediaeval  bestiaries 

derived  their  information.     The  twelfth  book  treats 

of  beasts,  quadrupeds,  birds,  reptiles,  and  insects ; 

the  sixteenth  of  precious  stones,  and  the  seventh  of 

plants.     In  this  survey  of  the  animal,  vegetable, 

and  mineral  kingdoms  the  author  generally  confines 


6o  Animal    Symbolism 

himself  to  statements  of  what  was  regarded  in  his 
day  as  the  facts  of  natural  history ;  the  mystical 
and  moral  application  of  these  things  was  made  by 
his  younger  contemporary,  St.  Hildefonse,  Bishop 
of  Toledo,  who  discusses  at  considerable  length 
their  spiritual  significance, 

Petrus  Damiani,  Abbot  of  Fonte  Avellana  and 
Cardinal-Bishop  of  Ostia,  wrote  in  the  eleventh 
century  a  treatise  on  the  excellence  of  the  monastic 
state  as  exemplified  by  divers  living  creatures  {De 
bono  religiosi  status  et  variarum  animantium), 
mentioning  about  forty  marine  and  terrestrial  ani- 
mals, from  the  oyster  to  the  elephant,  and  adducing 
their  real  or  fabulous  qualities  in  illustration  of  the 
desirableness  of  a  cenobitic  life.  About  the  year 
1 2 1 5  an  Englishman,  Alexander  Neckam,  composed 
a  volume  "  On  the  Nature  of  Things  "  {De  Naturis 
Rermn),  in  which  he  discoursed  of  animals  from 
ethical  and  doctrinal  points  of  view.  In  1498  there 
was  published  at  Cologne  a  duodecimo  entitled 
"  Dialogue  of  Creatures  excellently  moralized  and 
applicable  to  every  Moral  Matter  in  a  pleasing  and 
edifying  manner,  to  the  Praise  of  God  and  the 
Edification  of  Men  "  {Dyalogus  creaturarum  optime 
moralisatus  omni  materie  moralo  iocundo  et  edifica- 
tivo  modo  applicabilis^  ad  laudem  Dei  et  hominum 
edificationein).  It  contains  a  hundred  and  twenty- 
two  dialogues,  some  in  the  style  of  ^sop's  fables, 
and  others  modelled  after  the  Physiologus,  with 
coarse  woodcuts  in  elucidation  of  the  text,  and  is 
altogether  a  pretentious  but  rather  inferior  produc- 


In    Ecclesiastical    Architecture       6i 

tion.  Anastasius  Sinaita,  a  monk  of  the  famous 
cloister  on  Mount  Sinai,  wrote  during  the  latter  half 
of  the  seventh  century  his  elaborate  *'  Anagogical 
Contemplations  on  the  Six  Days'  Divine  Work  "  in 
eleven  books  {Anagogicarum  contemplationum  in 
divini  opificii  Hexaemeron),  in  which  this  sort  of 
hermeneutic  theology  is  pushed  to  the  absurdest 
conclusions.  The  author's  endeavour,  as  he  states 
it,  is  "to  thresh  the  ears  of  Scripture  in  order  to 
get  out  the  pure  kernel,  which  is  Christ,"  In  other 
words,  his  work  is  a  contribution  to  that "  science  of 
mystic  Christology "  which  the  early  Church  so 
assiduously  cultivated,  and  of  which  Bishop  Alex- 
ander in  his  Bampton  Lectures  deplores  the  decline. 
As  regards  the  story  of  Eden,  Anastasius  remarks  : 
"  Woe  be  to  us  if  we  take  it  literally,  for  then  we 
rush  constantly  from  Scylla  to  Charybdis."  This 
is  quite  true,  and  with  the  advancement  of  science 
and  the  comparative  study  of  religions  it  is  becom- 
ing increasingly  difficult  to  sail  with  safety  on  this 
line  between  the  whirlpool  and  the  rock. 

In  Beaugendre's  edition  of  the  works  of  Hildebert 
of  Lavardin,  Archbishop  of  Tours,  who  lived  during 
the  latter  half  of  the  eleventh  century,  is  included  a 
Latin  poem  on  beasts  and  their  mystical  meaning, 
composed,  as  the  title  states,  by  Theobald  of 
Plaisance,  whoever  he  may  have  been.  It  has 
been  suggested  with  some  degree  of  probability 
that  he  was  the  Theobald  who  held  the  office  of 
abbot  of  Monte  Cassino  from  1022  to  1035  ;  there 
is,  however,  no  confirmation  of  this  conjecture  in 


62  Animal    Symbolism 

the  manuscripts,  where  the  author  is  called  Theo- 
baldus  Senensis  Theobaldus  Placentinus  episcopus, 
or  simply  Theobaldus  Italicus. 

This  version  of  the  PJiysiologus  was  exceedingly 
popular  in  the  middle  ages,  as  is  evident  from  the 
many  manuscripts  in  which  it  has  been  transmitted 
to  us,  and  from  the  number  of  annotated  editions  of 
it  which  were  printed  during  the  fifteenth  century. 
It  was  published  in  1872  by  Dr.  Richard  Morris 
from  a  Harleian  manuscript  (Early  English  Text 
Society,  vol.  xlix..  Appendix  I.,  pp.  201-209).  The 
English  bestiary  printed  in  the  same  volume  (pp. 
1-25)  from  a  manuscript  of  the  thirteenth  century, 
belonging  to  the  library  of  the  British  Museum, 
is  a  free  translation  of  Theobald's  work.  It  was 
first  edited  by  Wright  (Haupt  and  Hoffmann's 
Altdeictsche  Blatter,  ii.,  and  Wright  and  Halliwell's 
ReliqucB  Antiques,  i.),  and  is  also  found  in  Matz- 
ner's  Altenglische  SpracJiproben,  i.  Thierfelder  men- 
tions in  Naumann's  Serapeum  (1862,  Nos.  15  and 
16)  two  metrical  versions  of  the  Physiologiis  in 
Latin  as  extant  in  manuscript ;  one  dated  1493 
and  written  in  elegiac  verse  by  a  certain  Florinus, 
and  preserved  in  the  University  Library  of  Leipsic, 
and  the  other  in  Leonine  verse  by  an  unknown 
author,  and  now  in  the  University  Library  of 
Breslau. 

Perhaps  no  book,  except  the  Bible,  has  ever  been 
so  widely  diffused  among  so  many  peoples  and  for 
so  many  centuries  as  the  Physiologiis.  It  has  been 
translated  into  Latin,  Ethiopic,  Arabic,  Armenian, 


In    Ecclesiastical    Architecture       63 

Syriac,  Anglo-Saxon,  Icelandic,  Spanish,  Italian, 
Provencal,  and  all  the  principal  dialects  of  the 
Germanic  and  Romanic  languages. 

One  of  the  oldest  and  most  interesting  of  these 
versions  is  the  Ethiopic,  which  belongs  to  the  first 
half  of  the  fifth  century,  and  forms,  with  the  trans- 
lation of  the  Septuagint,  the  basis  of  Ethiopic  or 
Ge'ez  literature.  It  adheres  very  closely  to  the 
original,  but  contains  numerous  errors,  owing  to 
the  translator's  imperfect  knowledge  of  Greek.  It 
has  been  carefully  edited  from  London,  Paris,  and 
Vienna  manuscripts,  with  ample  annotations,  a 
German  translation,  and  an  admirable  introduction 
by  Dr.  Fritz  Hommel,  Professor  of  Arabic  in  the 
University  of  Munich  (Leipsic,  1877).  As  the  work 
is  written  in  classical  Ge'ez,  it  can  be  recommended 
as  an  excellent  text-book  for  beginners  in  Ethiopic. 

Of  a  somewhat  later  date  is  the  Armenian  trans- 
lation, v/hich  follows  the  Greek  original  in  the 
descriptions  of  the  animals  and  their  habits,  but 
deviates  fi'om  it  considerably  in  the  moralizations 
and  religious  applications  of  their  characteristics. 
It  has  been  published  by  Pitra  in  his  Spicilegium 
Soles7Jiense,  iii.,  and  translated  into  French  by  Cahier 
{Nouveaiix  Melanges  d'Ai'cheo/ogie,  1874). 

The  oldest  Syriac  version,  published  by  Tychsen 
{Physiologus  SyriLS,  Rostock,  1795),  is,  in  the  opinion 
of  Dr.  Lauchert,  "  at  least  as  old  as  the  Ethiopic  and 
more  important   than    the  Armenian."^     It  gives 

1  Gcschichte  des  Physwlogits,  von  Dr.  Friedrich  Lauchert. 
Strasburg,  TrUbner,  1889.     This  is  the  most  complete  and 


64  Animal  Symbolism 

the  natural  history  of  thirty-two  animals,  each 
section  being  introduced  by  passages  of  Scripture 
in  which  the  animal  under  discussion  is  mentioned, 
but  without  any  moral  or  religious  reflections,  or 
any  attempt  at  exegetical  exposition.  It  thus 
constitutes  a  sort  of  biblical  beast-book  free  from 
hermeneutical  tendencies.  There  are  also  several 
later  Syriac  translations,  some  of  which  have  been 
printed,  with  Latin  metaphrases,  by  Land  in  his 
Anecdota  Syriaca,  iv.  The  Arabic  version,  edited 
by  Land  in  his  Otia  Syriaca,  iv.,  observes  pretty 
much  the  same  order  as  the  Greek  original,  the 
authorship  of  which  is  ascribed  by  the  Arabic 
translator  to  Gregory  surnamed  the  Theologian, 
better  known  as  Gregory  of  Nazianz.  This  state- 
ment, however,  seems  to  be  a  personal  conjecture 
or  vague  tradition  of  no  real  value. 

The  Latin  version  of  the  Physiologus  is  first  men- 
tioned in  the  so-called  Decretiun  Gelasianimi  or 
Index  Prohibitorum  attributed  to  Pope  Gelasius  I., 
and  supposed  to  have  been  issued  by  him  A.D.  496. 
In  this  catalogue  of  forbidden  books  it  is  charac- 
terized as  Liber  Physiologus,  qui  ab  hcsreticis 
conscriptiis  est,  et  beati  Ambrosii  nomine  signatus, 
apocryphus.  As  Ambrosius  died  A.D.  397,  and  it  is 
hardly  probable  that  a  work  which  he  did  not 
write  would  be  ascribed  to  him  until  at  least  a 
few  years  after  his  death,  we  are  justified  in  assum- 


critical  history  of  the  Physiologus  hitherto  published,  and  is 
especially  rich  in  bibliographical  information. 


In    Ecclesiastical    Architecture       65 

ing  that  the  Latin  Physiologtis  was  not  composed 
before  the  beginning  of  the  fifth  century.    Professor 
Friedrich  of  Munich  has  shown,  in  a  paper  read 
before  the  Royal  Bavarian  Academy  of  Sciences, 
Jan.  7,   1888,  that  the  above-mentioned    Gelasian 
Decree  was  not  issued  by  Pope  Gelasius  L,  but  was 
a  private  document  with  no  official  character  what- 
ever, and  that  it  did  not  exist  before  A.D.  533.     An 
additional   circumstance,  which  enables  us  to  fix 
the  probable  date  of  the  work  within  still  narrower 
limits,  is  the  fact  that  in  connection  with  the  expo- 
sition   of  the   third   quality  of  the  ant  a    list   of 
heretics  is  given  whose  teachings  are  to  be  avoided, 
but   among   them  Nestorius,  whose  doctrine   was 
condemned  by  the  third  CEcumenical  Council  at 
Ephesus,  A.D.  431,  is  not  mentioned.    As  so  promi- 
nent a  heretic  would  not  have  been  passed  over,  we 
may  fitly  infer  that  this  Latin  version  was  made 
before  his  condemnation,  namely  during  the  first 
three  decades  of  the  fifth  century.     The  existing 
manuscripts  of  the  Latin  Physiologus  belong  to  the 
eighth,  ninth,   and   tenth   centuries;   they  do   not 
present  a  uniform  text  with  variants,  and  are  there- 
fore not  copies  of  the  same  translation,  but  rather 
independent  versions,  to  which  each  translator  has 
added  interpretations   of  his  own ;    at   least   they 
contain    expositions    not     found     in    any    Greek 
manuscripts  now  extant.     The  Latin  Physiologus 
has  been    published    by    Cahier   in   his   Melanges 
d'Archeologie,  ii.-iv.     Another  shorter  Latin  version, 
known  as  Dicta  Johannis  Chtysostoini  de  Naturis 

F 


66  Animal  Symbolism 

Bestianim,  has  been  printed  by  H eider  in  Archiv 
fiir  die  Kunde  oesterreichischer  Geschichtsqjcellen,  ii. 
(1850),  from  a  manuscript  of  the  eleventh  century 
belonging  to  the  cloister  of  Gottweih.  It  is  simply  an 
abbreviation  and  re-arrangement  of  the  text  edited 
by  Cahier. 

Cassiodorus  in  his  commentary  on  Psalm  cii.  6 
says,  that  the  holy  man  loves  solitude  like  the 
pelican,  and  withdraws  from  human  society  like 
the  nycticorax  or  night-raven,  and  tells  the  old 
story  of  the  renewal  of  the  eagle's  youth  in  illustration 
of  Psalm  ciii.  5.  Gregory  I.,  surnamed  the  Great, 
was  especially  fond  of  symbolisms  of  this  sort,  and 
made  very  free  use  of  them  in  his  expositions  of 
Job.  So,  too,  in  the  beginning  of  the  eighth  century, 
Aldhelm,  Abbot  of  Malmesbury,  draws  illustrations 
of  his  parables  from  the  same  source,  as  does  also 
the  Venerable  Beda,  a  generation  later,  in  his  in- 
terpretation of  Job  xxix.  18,  which  he  renders  :  "  I 
shall  die  in  my  nest,  and  I  shall  multiply  my  days 
like  the  phoenix  ;  "  the  Hebrew  word  c/iul  meaning 
phoenix  as  well  as  sand.  It  also  signifies  palm-tree  ; 
St.  Jerome  took  it  in  this  sense  :  "  sicut  palma  mul- 
tiplicabo  dies,"  and  the  same  interpretation  is  given 
in  the  Septuagint :  uicrmp  oreAeyos  (poCyiKo  tioXvv 
Xpoi'ov  ^LOio-o} :  "  like  the  stem  of  the  palm-tree  I  shall 
live  a  long  time." 

One  of  the  early  Christian  poets,  Aurelius 
Clemens  Prudentius  (a.d.  348 — 410),  in  his  Hamar- 
tigenia  or  Genesis  of  Sin  (v.  518  sqq.\  gives  a 
detailed    description   of  the  birth  of  the  viper  in 


In    Ecclesiastical    Architecture        67 

illustration  of  his  theme.  Prudentius  is  also  the 
author  of  PsycJioniachia^  or  the  *'  Battle  of  the  Soul," 
which  is  one  of  the  first  examples  of  a  purely 
allegorical  poem  in  Occidental  literature,  and  the 
model  of  all  similar  productions  in  the  middle  ages. 
In  the  proem  we  have  a  characteristic  specimen 
of  typological  hermeneutics,  in  which  Abraham 
represents  Faith,  his  three  hundred  and  eighteen 
servants  signify  Christ  (the  Greek  numerical  letters 
T  (300)  I  (10)  H  (8)  were  for  this  reason  a  mono- 
grammatic  expression  for  Christ),  the  heathen  kings 
of  Sodom  and  Gomorrah  are  types  of  carnal  vices, 
and  Lot,  a  sojourner  in  Sodom,  is  the  soul  of  the 
pious  man  beset  by  the  seductions  of  the  flesh. 
This  interpretation  was  not  original  with  the  Spanish 
Latin  poet,  but  borrowed  from  the  supposititious 
Epistle  of  Barnabas,  where  in  the  ninth  chapter  the 
following  passage  occurs : "  The  scripture  saith, 
'  Abraham  circumcised  three  hundred  and  eighteen 
men  of  his  household.'  ^  Hear  the  meaning  first 
of  the  eighteen,  then  of  the  three  hundred.  The 
ten  and  eight  are  represented,  the  ten  by  I,  and 
the  eight  by  H.  There  thou  hast  the  beginning 
of  the  name  IHSOTS.  But  because  the  Cross,  in 
the  form  of  the  letter  T,  was  to  carry  the  grace 
of  salvation,  therefore  he  adds  three  hundred,  which 
is  represented  by  T  in  Greek.  So  he  shows 
forth  Jesus  in  the  first  two  letters,  and  the  Cross  in 
the  third."     Evidently  the  Jewish  patriarch  did  not 

1  This  statement  is  not   strictly   correct,  but    is   derived 
from  a  combination  of  Gen.  xiv.  14  and  xvii.  26,  27. 


68  Animal    Symbolism 

dream  of  the  profound  significance  which  Christian 
expositors  would  attach  to  the  simple  act  of  cir- 
cumcising the  members  of  his  tribal  family. 

A  still  more  elaborate  allegorical  production  of 
this  class  is  the  hexameter  poem  De  Phoenice, 
ascribed  to  Lactantius,  but  probably  of  a  somewhat 
later  date.  It  bears  the  stamp  of  paganism  rather 
than  of  Christianity,  the  phoenix  being  glorified  as 
a  satellite  of  the  sun  and  a  symbol  of  solar  worship. 
It  begins  with  a  florid  description  of  the  home  of 
the  phoenix  in  the  remotest  region  of  the  East,  in  a 
grove  consecrated  to  the  sun  and  situated  far  above 
the  reach  of  Phaeton's  fire  or  Deucalion's  deluge, 
where  there  is  neither  disease  nor  death,  and  where 
old  age,  crime,  passion,  care,  and  poverty  never 
come,  and  storm,  rain,  and  frost  are  all  unknown. 
In  this  retreat,  which  is  rendered  perpetually  fresh 
and  green  by  a  living  spring,  the  phoenix  dwells 
and  greets  the  dawn  with  a  sacred  song.i  The 
peroration  is  a  rapturous  apostrophe  to  the  phoenix : 
"  Oh,  bird  of  happy  fortune  and  fate,  to  whom  the 
god  himself  has  granted  the  gift  of  self-regenera- 
tion. Whether  male  or  female,  or  neither,  or  both, 
happy  is  she  who  enters  into  no  compact  with 
Venus.  Death  is  Venus  to  her ;  her  only  pleasure 
is  in  death ;  she  desires  to  die  that  she  may  be 
born  again.  She  is  her  own  offspring,  her  own 
father  and  heir,  her  own  mother  and  nurse,  a  foster- 
child  of  herself.     She  is  herself  indeed,  but  not  the 

1  For  a  full  analysis  of  the  poem  see  Adolf  Ebert's 
Geschichte  der  Ch^-istlich-Lateinischen  Lzteratuj;  i.  95. 


In    Ecclesiastical    Architecture        69 


same,  since  she  is  herself  and  not  herself,  having 
gained  eternal  life  by  the  boon  and  blessing  of 
death."  1 

It  is  easy  to  see  what  a  prolific  source  of  doc- 
trinal interpretation  and  illustration  the  supposed 
characteristics  of  this  mystic  bird  would  supply  to 
Christian  exegetists  and  homilists.  It  is  well 
known,  too,  that  the  chief  features  of  sun-worship 
colour  the  ideas  and  crop  out  in  the  ecclesiastical 
institutions  of  Christendom.  Christmas,  Epiphany, 
Easter,  Whitsuntide,  the  midsummer  feast  of  St. 
John,  and  all  the  principal  holy-days  and  festivals 
of  the  Church  are  survivals  of  a  solar  or  stellar  cult, 
and  were  determined,  not  by  historical  facts  or 
traditions,  but  by  astronomical  considerations  cor- 
responding to  the  waxing  or  waning  power  of  the 
sun,  or  coinciding  with  the  position  of  the  constel- 
lations in  the  heavens  and  the  influence  they  were 
supposed  to  exert  upon  the  course  of  the  seasons 
and  other  sublunary  affairs.  Constantine  remained 
a  sun-worshipper  till  the  day  of  his  death,  and  the 
coins  of  early  Christian  emperors  were  often  stamped 
with  the  image  of  the  phoenix  as  an  emblem  of  this 
ancient  and  once  universal  cult. 

An  Anglo-Saxon  paraphrase  of  this  poem,  sup- 
posed to  have  been  made  by  Cynewulf,  has  been 
published  by  Thorpe  {Codex Exoniensis,  pp.  197-242), 
together  with  the  Latin  text,  and  also  by  Grein 
(yBibliothek  der  ayigelsdchsischen  Poesie,  i.  215-233). 
The  first  part  is  a  description  of  the  phoenix,  and 
^  Cf.  Lactantius,  Opera^  ii.  214-219. 


JO  Animal    Symbolism 


the  second  part  an  application  of  its  fabulous  quali- 
ties to  the  Christian  doctrine  of  the  Resurrection. 

It  was  from  the  Latin  Physiologiis  that  all  the 
translations  of  the  work  existing  in  the  vulgar 
tongues  of  Europe  were  made.  Thus  it  became 
the  common  property  of  the  people ;  its  similitudes 
were  no  longer  confined  to  hermeneutic  theology, 
but  passed  into  general  literature,  and  into  ecclesi- 
astical architecture.  The  oldest  of  these  versions 
is  the  Anglo-Saxon,  which  dates  from  the  end  of 
the  eighth  century.  It  has  been  edited  by  Thorpe 
with  an  English  translation  {Codex  Exoniensis,  pp. 
355-367),  and  by  Grein  {Bibi.  der  angels.  Poesie,  i. 
233-238);  and  although  only  a  fragment  of  it  has 
been  preserved,  enough  remains  to  show  that  it 
must  have  been  superior  to  all  other  versions  in 
poetic  beauty  and  compact  vigour  of  expression. 

There  are  two  German  versions  of  the  Physio- 
logits,  belonging  respectively  to  the  eleventh  and 
twelfth  centuries.  The  older  one  is  a  fragment, 
and  has  been  printed  several  times  from  a  Vienna 
manuscript,  best  perhaps  by  Miillenhoff  and  Scherer 
{Denkiualer,  No.  81) ;  the  other  is  complete,  and  has 
been  printed  last  by  Lauchert  in  the  Appendix  to 
his  Geschichte  des  P/iysiologus,  pp.  280-299.  Both 
versions  correspond  to  the  Dkta  of  Chrysostom 
with  only  slight  variations. 

The  Icelandic  version,  which  has  been  trans- 
mitted to  us  in  a  very  fragmentary  condition,  dates 
from  the  beginning  of  the  thirteenth  century,  and 
follows  the  Latin  text  with  occasional  additions 


In    Ecclesiastical    Architecture       71 

and  deviations.  It  was  edited  in  1877  by  Moebius 
{Aiialecta  Norroena,  pp.  246-251),  who  also  gave  a 
German  translation  of  it  in  Hommel's  Ethiopic 
Physiologiis,  pp.  99-104 ;  but  the  most  complete  text 
of  these  fragments  has  been  printed,  together  with 
the  crude  and  quaint  drawings  illustrating  the 
original  manuscripts,  by  Verner  Dahlerup,  in  his 
exhaustive  critical  bibliography  of  the  Physiologus, 
which  appeared  in  Aarboger  foj-  Nordisk  Oldkyn- 
dighed  og  Historic  udgivene  af  Det  kogelige  Nor- 
diskc  Oldskrift-Selskab  in  1889  (ii.  4,  3,  199-290). 

The  French  bestiaries  are  also  based  upon  the 
Pkjsiologiis,  but  have  been  greatly  amplified,  not 
so  much  by  the  introduction  of  other  animals,  as 
by  fuller  descriptions  and  more  extended  exposi- 
tions. The  oldest  of  these  productions  is  the 
Anglo-Norman  Le  Livre  des  Creatures,  by  Philippe 
de  Thaun,  written  about  the  year  1121  and  dedi- 
cated to  Queen  Adelheid  of  Louvraine,  and  doubt- 
less intended  to  celebrate  her  nuptials  with  Henry 
I.  of  England,  which  took  place  at  this  time. 
It  has  been  published  from  a  manuscript  in  the 
British  Museum,  with  an  English  translation  by 
Wright  in  his  Popular  Treatises  on  Science  during 
the  Middle  Ages.  Another  French  translation  in 
prose  was  made  by  a  priest,  Peter  of  Picardy,  who 
states  that  he  undertook  the  task  at  the  request  of 
Philippe  de  Dreux,  Bishop  of  Beauvais  (1175 — 
1 2 17),  an  item  of  information  which  enables  us  to 
assign  the  work  approximately  to  the  end  of  the 
twelfth   century.      The  translator    adds  that    the 


72  Animal    Symbolism 

Bishop,  having  little  confidence  in  the  fideUty  of 
poetic  versions,  wished  him  to  avoid  metre  in  order 
to  adhere  as  closely  as  possible  to  "the  Latin 
which  Physiologus,  one  of  the  good  clerks  of  Athens, 
has  used."  It  has  been  published  by  Cahier  in  his 
Melanges  d'Archeologie,  ii.-iv.  About  the  same 
time,  or  perhaps  a  little  later,  William,  a  priest  of 
Normandy,  wrote  Le  Bestiaire  Divin  in  rhyme. 
Inasmuch  as  the  author  refers  twice  to  the  interdict 
which  Pope  Innocent  III.  laid  upon  England,  "at 
the  time  when  Philippe  reigned  in  France,"  as  still 
in  force,  the  poem  must  have  been  written  between 
1208  and  12 12.  It  has  been  published  by  Cahier 
{ibid.),  by  Hippeau  {Le  Bestiaire  Divin  de  Guillaume, 
clercde  Normandie,  Caen,  1852),  and  lastly  and  most 
satisfactorily  by  Reisch  (Leipsic,  1890). 

There  is  also  a  Greek  metrical  version  of  the 
Physiologus  in  two  manuscripts  of  the  fourteenth 
and  fifteenth  centuries,  both  of  which  are  in  Paris. 
It  is  probably  a  production  of  the  twelfth  century, 
and  has  been  printed  by  Legrange  {Le  Physiologus 
en  grec  vidgaive  et  en  vers  politiques,  Paris,  1873). 
The  fragment  of  a  Spanish  Physiologus  of  the  four- 
teenth century  has  been  published  under  the  title 
Libro  de  los  Gates,  from  a  manuscript  of  the 
National  Library  of  Madrid  by  Pascual  de  Gayan- 
gos,  in  his  collection  of  prose  writers  anterior  to  the 
fifteenth  century  {Biblioteca  de  Autores  Espanoles, 
Hi.,  Madrid,  1859).  We  have  also  the  somewhat 
scanty  remains  of  a  Rumanian  version,  supposed 
to  belong  to  the  sixteenth  century,  although  the 


In    Ecclesiastical    Architecture       73 


only  manuscript  of  it  extant  bears  the  date  17 17. 
It  has  been  printed  with  an  Italian  translation  by 
Gaster  (A  rcJiivio  Glottologico  Italiano,  x. ).  Lauchert 
mentions  a  Waldensian  PJiysiologiis  existing  in  a 
single  Dublin  manuscript,  and  entitled  Dc  las 
Propriotas  de  las  Aniinancas.  The  author  calls 
himself  Jaco,  and  states  in  the  introduction  that 
the  book  is  designed  for  use  as  a  manual  of  in- 
struction, and  in  accordance  with  this  purpose,  the 
exposition  is  ethical  rather  than  theological,  and 
aims  to  inculcate,  not  so  much  soundness  of  doctrine 
as  correct  moral  conduct  in  the  common  relations 
of  life. 

Barth  has  edited  from  a  Paris  manuscript  in  his 
ChrestoniatJiie  Proveugale  some  excerpts  of  a  Pro- 
vencal PJiysiologiis  under  the  title  Also  son  las 
Naturas  d'alcus  Auzels  e  d'alcunas  Bestias^  treating 
of  the  nature  of  birds  and  beasts,  but  with  no 
attempt  at  exposition  of  any  kind.  There  is  also 
a  bestiary  in  the  Tusco- Venetian  dialect,  recently 
published  and  annotated  by  Max  Goldstaub  and 
Richard  Wendriner  (Halle,  1892)  from  a  manu- 
script in  the  Biblioteca  Communale  of  Padua.  It 
discusses  some  forty  beasts,  several  of  which  (as 
the  horse)  are  not  mentioned  in  the  P/iysiologus, 
and  explains  their  qualities  in  a  moral  rather  than 
in  a  dogmatic  sense.  Thus  the  unicorn  is  a  symbol 
of  violent  and  cruel  persons,  who  can  be  subdued 
and  rendered  gentle  only  by  the  grace  of  God. 
Saul  is  adduced  as  an  example  of  this  sort  of 
person.      The    Biblioteca    Ricciardiana    and    the 


74  Animal    Symbolism 

Biblioteca  Laurenziana  of  Florence,  as  well  as 
other  Italian  libraries,  contain  numerous  codices 
of  bestiaries  which  have  never  been  printed. 

Besides  being  so  frequently  translated,  the  Physi- 
ologus  is  constantly  cited  by  mediaeval  writers,  and 
forms  the  basis  of  many  bulky  tomes,  such  as 
Thomas  de  Cantimpre's  Liber  de  NaUiris  Renwi, 
written  between  1233  and  1248.  This  work  was 
one  of  the  earliest  and  most  celebrated  encyclo- 
paedias of  natural  histor)',  and  was  freely  translated 
into  Dutch  about  1280  by  Jacob  van  Maerlant, 
under  the  title  Der  Natnren  Bloeme,  and  in  1350 
into  German  by  Konrad  von  Megenberg  as  Das 
BucJi  der  Natur.  Like  in  character,  and  hardl}' 
less  important,  are  the  Speculum  Naturale  of  Vin- 
cent de  Beauvais,  completed  about  1250,  the  Liber 
de  Proprietatibtis  Reruiii  of  Bartholomsus  An- 
glicus,  dating  from  the  latter  half  of  the  thirteenth 
century,  Brunetto  Latino's  Li  Tresors,  the  French 
translation  of  a  Latin  original  belonging  to  the 
same  period,  the  Acerba,  a  didactic  poem  by  Cecco 
d'Ascoli,  who  was  burned  at  the  stake  in  1327, 
and  other  volumes,  which  treated  in  a  popular  style 
of  the  occult  properties  and  symbolical  significance 
of  birds,  beasts,  plants,  and  stones. 

An  elaborate  compilation  of  this  kind  was  the 
Hortus  Deliciaruvi  of  Herrade  de  Landsberg, 
Abbess  of  St.  Odile,  who  turned  the  facts  and  fables 
of  natural  science  into  the  channel  of  moral  instruc- 
tion and  religious  edification.  It  was  written  during 
the  latter  half  of  the  twelfth  century,  and  preserved 


In    Ecclesiastical    Architecture       y^ 

in  a  unique  vellum  manuscript  of  648  folio  pages, 
with  numerous  illuminations  and  miniatures,  in  the 
Strasburg  Library,  where  it  perished,  with  so  many 
other  literary  and  artistic  treasures,  during  the 
bombardment  of  that  city  by  the  Germans  in  1870. 
There  was  also  a  treatise  on  beasts  and  other 
things  (^InstiUitiones  Monasticcc  de  Bestiis  et  aliis 
Rebus),  commonly,  though  in  all  probability  falsely, 
ascribed  to  Hugo  de  Saint- Victor,  in  which  these 
symbolisms  were  wonderfull}-  wrought  out,  and 
every  feature,  member,  hue,  and  habit  of  the  crea- 
tures thus  allegorized  was  made  to  yield  a  secret 
and  subtle  significance.  "What  Holy  Writ  incul- 
cates on  the  learned,"  says  the  author  of  this  work 
in  reference  to  the  pictorial  representations  of  such 
ideas,  "  pictures  impress  upon  the  ignorant ;  for  as 
the  scholar  delights  in  the  subtlety  of  Scripture,  so 
the  soul  of  the  simple  is  pleased  with  the  simpli- 
city of  pictures."  But  this  simplicity  was  often 
lost  in  a  puzzling  maze  and  winding  labyrinth  of 
allegorical  and  mystical  interpretation,  which  it 
would  be  impossible  for  the  wayfaring  man,  even 
though  he  were  not  a  fool,  to  thread  without  the 
PJiysiologus  or  some  later  elaboration  of  it  as  a  clue. 
Indeed,  without  such  guidance  it  would  be  equally 
difficult  for  us  at  the  present  day  to  understand 
what  the  builder  of  a  medireval  church  or  an 
embroiderer  of  sacerdotal  vestments  meant  by 
adorning  them  with  seemingly  incongruous  repre- 
sentations of  lions,  eagles,  phoenixes,  pelicans,  ravens, 
doves,    partridges,    panthers,    harts,    foxes,    hedge- 


76  Animal    Symbolism 

hogs,  ferrets,  ichneumons,  Hzards,  serpents,  tortoises, 
whales,  elephants,  ibises,  crocodiles,  unicorns,  sala- 
manders, and  other  real  and  mythical  animals,  or 
to  conjecture  what  conceivable  relation  they  could 
bear  to  Christian  theology  or  Christian  worship. 

The  sacred  edifice  as  a  whole  was  regarded  as 
an  emblem  of  the  human  soul,  of  which  the  crea- 
tures carved  on  the  pillars  and  portals  were  the 
desirable  or  undesirable  attributes  and  affections. 
Thus  an  ox  typified  patience  and  gentleness,  a  lion 
sternness  and  majesty,  a  turtle-dove  constancy  and 
chastity,  a  ram  spiritual  leadership,  a  lily  purity, 
and  a  rose  martyrdom.  We  have  a  modern  sur- 
vival of  this  symbolism  in  Gabriel  Max's  celebrated 
painting.  The  Last  Greeting,  in  which  a  rose  falls 
to  the  feet  of  a  young  woman  as  she  stands 
exposed  to  wild  beasts  in  the  amphitheatre. 

So,  too,  the  raven  and  the  dove  are  not  mere 
reminiscences  of  the  Deluge,  but  emblems — the 
former  of  the  carnal-minded  Jews,  who  live  on 
the  carrion  of  the  Law,  the  latter  of  the  new  prin- 
ciple of  Christianity,  that  finds  no  abiding-place 
outside  of  the  ark  of  safety,  but  returns  to  it 
bringing  the  olive  branch  of  peace  and  reconcilia- 
tion. There  is  also  a  distinction  between  the  dove 
of  Noah,  the  dove  of  David,  and  the  dove  of  Christ ; 
the  first  signifies  rest,  the  second  peace,  and  the 
third  salvation.  As  the  dove  separates  with  its 
beak  the  choicest  kernels  of  wheat  from  the  chaff, 
so  it  is  the  office  of  the  preacher  to  separate  the 
pure  grain  of  Christian  doctrine  from  the  husks  of 


In    Ecclesiastical    Architecture       jj 

Judaism.  Its  two  wings  are  love  of  man  and  love 
of  God,  compassion  and  contemplation,  the  active 
and  the  meditative  life;  the  ring  round  its  neck 
is  the  encircling  sweetness  of  the  Divine  Word ; 
the  gold  and  silver  of  its  plumage  are  the  precious 
treasures  of  purity  and  innocence;  its  whiteness 
intermingled  with  changeable  tints  is  the  spirit  of 
chastity  in  conflict  with  fickle  and  rebellious  pas- 
sions ;  its  red  feet  are  the  feet  of  the  Church  stained 
with  the  blood  of  the  martyrs ;  its  two  eyes  survey 
the  past  and  discern  the  future,  looking  in  upon 
the  soul  and  up  to  God ;  their  yellowish  lustre 
indicates  maturity  of  thought  and  reflection,  for 
yellow  is  the  colour  of  ripe  fruit. 

In  the  middle  ages  these  symbolisms,  which 
seem  to  us  so  far-fetched  and  obscure,  were  con- 
stantly referred  to  in  sermons  and  in  sacred  and 
profane  literature,  as  well  as  in  common  discourse, 
and  appear,  therefore,  to  have  been  generally  under- 
stood, so  that  a  passing  allusion  to  them  in  a  book 
or  address  was  assumed  to  be  intelligible  without 
further  comment.  Thus  we  find  in  a  Latin  poem 
published  by  Du  Meril  in  his  Poesies  populaires 
latuies  antcrieitres  au  XII'  Steele,  p.  191,  a  line  in 
which  Christ  is  said  to  have  been  put  to  death  by 
owls — 

"  Christus  a  noctuis  datur  supplicio." 

This  is,  however,  a  figurative  expression  for  the 
Jews,  who,  in  the  Physiologus,  are  compared  to  the 
nycticorax,  night-raven  or  owl,  which  cannot  en- 
dure the  presence  of  the  sun,  as  the  Jews  could 


78  Animal    Symbolism 

not  endure  the  coming  of  "the  dayspring  from  on 
high,"  and  the  brightness  of  the  sun  of  righteous- 
ness, loving  darkness  rather  than  light  because  their 
deeds  were  evil.  Thus  we  read  in  the  Bestiaire 
Divin  of  Guillaume — 

"  En  cest  oisel  sunt  figure 
Li  fols  Gieu  maleure, 
Qui  ne  voldrent  Deu  entendre 
Quant  il  vint  (^a  per  nus  raendre, 
De  Deu,  qui  est  verrai  soleil, 
Ne  voleient  creire  le  conseil." 

About  the  middle  of  the  thirteenth  century 
Albertus  Magnus  wrote  a  book  on  animals  i^De 
Auwialibus),  in  which  he  attempted  some  criticism 
of  the  Physiologies,  but  the  narrations  he  accepts  as 
true  are  for  the  most  part  quite  as  incredible  and 
absurd  as  those  he  rejects,  so  that  it  is  difficult  to 
determine  by  what  criterion  he  tests  their  authen- 
ticity. Thus,  for  example,  he  is  sceptical  as  regards 
the  self-mutilation  of  the  beaver  when  pursued  by 
hunters,  but  puts  implicit  faith  in  the  fable  of  the 
unicorn  and  the  virgin. 

With  the  translation  of  the  Physiologus  into  the 
vulgar  tongues  of  Europe  it  ceased  to  be  the  exclu- 
sive possession  of  theologians  and  exegetists,  and 
was  no  longer  confined  to  the  purposes  of  homi- 
letical  and  hermeneutical  illustration,  but  became 
the  common  property  of  the  people,  and  passed 
into  the  general  literature  of  Christendom  as  an  in- 
exhaustible source  of  quaint  and  often  forced  meta- 
phor, and  sometimes  apt,  though  more  frequently 
lame  and  lopsided,  simile. 


In    Ecclesiastical    Architecture       79 

Allusions  to  it  occur  henceforth  not  only  in 
sermons  and  sacred  songs,  in  devotional  works  and 
doctrinal  treatises,  and  in  the  encyclopaidic  compi- 
lations of  natural  science,  which  professed  to  give 
information  "concerning  all  things  and  some  things 
besides  "  ide  omnibus  rebus  et  quibiisdani  aliis),  but 
also  in  the  secular,  and  especially  the  erotic  poetry 
of  the  period.  Indeed,  without  a  knowledge  of  the 
Physiologus,  these  allusions  would  be  wholly  unin- 
telligible. The  citations  contained  in  Lauchert's 
exhaustive  chapter  on  this  subject  (pp.  185-207) 
suffice  to  show  how  widely  extended  and  well- 
nigh  universal  was  the  popularity  which  the  work 
enjoyed. 


CHAPTER    III 

THE  '  PHYSIOLOGUS '  IN  ART  AND  LITERATURE 

The  three  characteristics  of  the  lion — Representations  of  the 
lion  as  a  symbol  of  the  Resurrection  in  architecture — 
Beasts  often  have  a  twofold  signification — The  lion  and 
bear  as  types  of  Satan — Diabolification  of  the  dog — 
Strange  misconception  of  the  canine  character — Lions  as 
pedestals — Metaphorical  use  of  the  lion  in  poetry — The 
lizard  in  architecture — Artistic  delineations  of  the  unicorn 
as  a  type  of  Christ's  Incarnation — Auricular  conception  of 
Christ  as  the  Logos — Supposed  anti-toxical  virtue  of  the 
unicorn's  horn  and  that  of  the  African  viper — The  unicorn 
in  legend  and  poetry — Characteristics  of  the  elephant — 
Symbol  of  the  fall  of  man — Julius  Caesar's  queer  account 
of  the  elk — Elephants  embroidered  on  chasubles — Four 
characteristics  of  the  serpent — Artistic  and  poetic  uses 
of  its  fabled  attributes — The  eagle  as  a  symbol  of 
spiritual  aspiration  and  baptismal  regeneration — Allu- 
sions to  it  by  Dante  and  other  poets — The  fish  in  sacred 
iconology — Significance  of  the  whale  in  ecclesiastical 
architecture — Symbolism  of  the  remora  and  serra — Im- 
portance of  the  phoenix  and  the  pelican  as  emblems  of 
Christian  doctrine — Their  prominent  place  in  Church 
architecture — Import  of  the  fabulous  exploits  of  the  otter 
and  the  ichneumon — Panther  and  dragon  typical  of 
Christ  and  Belial — Healing  power  of  the  "heavenly 
panther" — Lesson  of  self-renunciation  taught  by  the 
laeaver — Characteristic  of  the  hyena — Symbolism  of  the 
salamander — The  partridge  a  type  of  the  devil — Ex- 
amples of  the  charadrius  in  art — Mystical  meaning  of  the 
crow,  turtle-dove,  ousel,  merl,  fulica,  and  hoopoe— Curious 
statement  of  Luther  concerning  swallows — Why  God 
80 


Animal    Symbolism  8 1 


feeds  the  young  ravens — Peculiarities  of  the  wolf — The 
Physiologtts  condemned  as  heretical — Freely  used  by 
Gregory  the  Great  in  his  scriptural  exposition — Virtues 
and  vices  portrayed  as  women  mounted  on  various 
animals — Disputatious  scholastics  satirized — Tetramorph 
— Gospel  mills — The  ark  of  the  covenant  as  the  triumphal 
chariot  of  the  Cross — Cock  and  clergy — Origin  of  the 
basilisk  and  its  significance — Its  prominence  in  religious 
symbology  and  sacred  architecture — Cautious  scepticism 
of  Albertus  Magnus — The  Physiologus  from  a  psycho- 
logical point  of  view,  as  illustrating  the  credulity  of  the 
Fathers  of  the  Church — Why  "the  hart  panteth  after 
the  water-brooks" — Story  of  the  antelope— Barnacle  geese 
— "  Credo  quia  absurdum  " — Modern  counterparts  of  early 
Christian  apologists  and  exegetists. 

The  Physiologus  begins  with  the  Hon,  and  adduces 
three  characteristics  of  the  king  of  beasts.  "  First, 
when  he  perceives  that  the  hunters  are  pursuing 
him,  he  erases  his  foot-prints  with  his  tail,  so  that 
he  cannot  be  traced  to  his  lair.  In  like  manner 
our  Saviour,  the  lion  of  the  tribe  of  Judah,  con- 
cealed all  traces  of  His  Godhead,  when  He  descended 
to  the  earth  and  entered  into  the  womb  of  the 
Virgin  Mary,  Secondly,  the  lion  always  sleeps 
with  his  eyes  open ;  so  our  Lord  slept  with  His 
body  on  the  Cross,  but  awoke  at  the  right  hand 
of  the  Father,  Thirdly,  the  lioness  brings  forth 
her  whelps  dead  and  watches  over  them  until, 
after  three  days,  the  lion  comes  and  howls  over 
them  and  vivifies  them  by  his  breath;  so  the 
Almighty  Father  recalled  to  life  His  only-begotten 
Son,  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  who  on  the  third 
day  was  thus  raised  from  the  dead,  and  will 
likewise  raise  us  all  up  to  eternal  life." 

G 


82 


Animal    Symbolism 


This  comparison  of  the  risen  Christ  to  a  lion's 
whelp  is  also  used   by  Abelard  in   the 


following 


Hnes- 


"  Ut  leonis  catulus 
Resurrexit  Dominus, 
Quern  rugitus  patrius 

Die  tertia 
Suscitat  vivificus 

Teste  physica." 

The  appeal  of  the  illustrious  schoolman  to  physics 
in  proof  of  his  statement  is  clearly  a  reference  to 
the  Physiologus, 

This  last  supposed  characteristic  of  the  lion 
appears  to  have  been  a  favourite  symbol  of  the 
resurrection  of  Christ,  as  well  as  of  the  general 
resurrection,    and    holds    a     prominent    place    in 


Relief  of  a  Lion.     (Munich.) 

mediaeval  architecture.  Representations  of  it  are 
frequently  found  in  various  parts  of  ecclesiastical 
edifices,  as,  for  example,  on  the  principal  portal 
of  St.  Laurence  in  Nuremberg,  in  the  choir  of 
Augsburg    Cathedral,   at   the    foot   of    a   colossal 


In    Ecclesiastical    Architecture        83 

crucifix  in  St.  Nicholas  of  Stralsund,  in  the  Wiirt- 
emberg  cloisters  Maulbronn  and  Bebenhausen, 
and  in  a  large  relief,  which  dates  from  the  latter 
half  of  the  thirteenth  century,  and  doubtless  be- 
longed originally  to  some  church  or  cloister,  pro- 
bably to  the  old  chapel  and  hospital  of  the  Holy 
Ghost  (built  1251-66  and  burned  1327),  but  which 
now  adorns  the  facade  of  a  house  Im  Thai  near 
the  Marienplatz  in  Munich,  and  the  origin  and 
signification  of  which  have  excited  no  little  dis- 
cussion among  Bavarian  antiquarians  and  ecclesi- 
ologists.  So,  too,  a  stained  window  of  the  minster 
of  Freiburg  in  the  Breisgau  contains  a  painting 
of  the  Crucifixion,  at  the  top  of  which  is  a  pelican 
feeding  its  young  with  its  own  blood;  above  the 
pelican  stands  a  lion  breathing  upon  three  whelps, 
which  are  just  beginning  to  show  signs  of  life. 
Underneath  the  lion  is  the  inscription :  Hilc]  Leo 
Forma  S\alvatoris\  showing  it  to  be  a  type  of 
the  quickening  power  of  the  voice  of  Christ.  A 
stained  window  of  the  thirteenth  century  in  the 
cathedral  of  St.  Etienne  at  Bourges  represents  the 
pelican  below  on  the  left  and  the  lion  and  whelps  on 
the  right  of  the  Crucified ;  above,  on  the  correspond- 
ing sides,  are  Jonah  delivered  from  the  whale  and 
Elijah  restoring  to  life  the  son  of  the  widow  of 
Zerephath  (see  Frontispiece).  In  the  central  lancet 
window  of  the  chapels  dedicated  to  the  Virgin  in 
the  cathedrals  of  Le  Mans  and  Tours  are  similar 
symbols  of  the  death  and  resurrection  of  Christ, 
in  which  the  phcenix  rising  from  its  ashes  takes 


84  Animal    Symbolism 

the  place  of  the  pelican.  Also  the  central  lancet 
window  in  the  apsis  of  the  cathedral  of  Lyons  has 
a  border  of  medallion  paintings  referring  to  the 
same  subject,  among  which  are  a  lion  and  his 
whelp  running  at  full  speed,  the  latter  having 
evidently  been  just  resuscitated.  It  was  often 
carved  on  sacramental  vessels,  as,  for  example,  on 
a  ciborium  belonging  to  the  monastery  Kloster- 
neuburg,  near  Vienna,  a  fine  specimen  of  gold- 
smith's work  dating  from  the  beginning  of  the 
fourteenth  century, 

A  Hon  howling  over  three  whelps  is  one  of  the 
series  of  reliefs  representing 
biblical  and  mythical  sub- 
jects that  ornament  a  frieze 
on  the  exterior  of  Stras- 
burg  Minster.  Besides 
Lion  howling  over  his  whelps,  scencs  from  the  Jewish 
{stra^burg  Minster.)  Scripturcs,  such  as  Abra- 
ham preparing  to  sacrifice  Isaac,  but  arrested  by 
an  angel,  who  points  to  a  ram  entangled  in  a  bush, 
Jonah  cast  up  by  the  whale  near  one  of  the  towers  of 
Nineveh,  the  brazen  serpent,  etc.,  we  may  mention 
in  this  connection  several  reliefs  which  are  based 
upon  the  legends  of  the  Physiologus,  and  the  meaning 
of  which  will  be  explained  hereafter  :  a  phoenix 
in  the  flames,  a  pelican  piercing  her  breast  and 
feeding  her  young  with  her  blood,  an  eagle  taking 
eaglets  from  the  nest  to  make  them  look  at  the 
sun,  and  a  unicorn  with  its  head  in  the  lap  of  a 
virgin,  while  a  man  is  thrusting  a  spear  into  its 


In    Ecclesiastical    Architecture       85 


side.  This  last  sculpture  resembles  very  closely 
the  illustration  from  the  bestiary  which  we  have 
given  in  discussing  the  symbolism  of  the  unicorn. 

In  connection  with  scenes  from  the  life  of  Christ 
on  the  bronze  doors  of  the  cathedral  of  Pisa  are 
reliefs  of  a  lion  howling  over  two  whelps,  an 
eagle  mounting  up  towards  the  sun,  a  unicorn,  a 
hart  by  a  stream  of  water,  a  serpent,  and  an  old 
rhinoceros  with  two  young  ones  playing  in  the 
background,  evidently  intended  to  represent  the 
leviathan  of  the  Bible. 

At  a  somewhat  later  period  the  lion,  as  a  sym- 
bol of  the  Resurrection,  was  sculptured  on  public 
buildings  of  a  secular  character  and  on  private 
dwellings ;  it  was  also  engraved  on  pieces  of  armour 
and  especially  on  helmets,  often  with  the  legend, 
Do7uine  vivifica  me  secundiiin  verbum  tmuu,  or  some 
other  appropriate  device,  expressive  of  the  hope 
of  the  warrior  that,  if  slain  in  battle,  he  might  be 
raised  up  on  the  last  day, 

Durand,  in  his  Rationale  Divinoruui  Officioriim^ 
lib.  vii.,  has  a  chapter  on  the  rubric  of  the  Evan- 
gelists {Rubrica  de  Evangelistis),  in  which  he 
says  that  Mark's  type  is  a  roaring  lion,  "  because 
his  aim  is  chiefly  to  give  a  description  of  the 
resurrection  of  Christ,  and  that  for  this  reason  his 
gospel  is  read  at  Easter.  For  it  is  stated  that 
the  lion  by  its  tremendous  roar  calls  to  life  its 
whelps  on  the  third  day,  and  thus  God  the  Father 
by  His  immense  power  called  to  life  His  Son  on 
the  third  day."     Origcn  has  a  similar  explanation 


86  Animal    Symbolism 

of  this  symbolism  in  his  discourse  on  Genesis.^ 
Indeed,  the  alkisions  to  this  zoological  myth  in 
homiletical  and  hermeneutical  literature  are  so 
numerous  and  unequivocal,  and  the  symbolical 
interpretation  of  it  so  obvious  and  uniform,  that 
one  marvels  that  Bavarian  arcliJEologists  should 
have  expended  so  much  rare  and  recondite  erudi- 
tion and  ingenuity  of  conjecture,  and  have  gone 
so  far  afield  historically  in  search  of  the  origin  and 
meaning  of  the  Munich  bas-relief  already  mentioned. 

A  sleeping  lion  is  often  brought  into  typological 
relation  to  the  infant  Jesus,  as,  for  example,  on  the 
western  portal  of  Notre-Dame  de  Paris,  and  in  a 
fresco  in  the  church  of  the  convent  Philotheos  on 
Mount  Athos,  where  the  connection  is  made  clear 
by  the  words  of  Jacob  concerning  Judah  :  "  He 
stooped  down,  he  couched  as  a  lion,  and  as  an  old 
lion;  who  shall  rouse  him  up?" — Gen.  xlix.  9 
(Didron,  Histoire  de  Dieii,  p.  348). 

The  belief  that  the  lion  never  closes  its  eyes  in 

sleep  caused  this  animal  to  be  placed  at  the  doors 

of  churches  as  a  guardian  of  the  sanctuary.     This 

custom,  which  was  observed  for  the  same  reason 

by  the  ancient  Egyptians,  is  thus  referred  to  by  a 

mediaeval  poet — 

"  Est  leo,  sed  custos,  oculis  quia  dormit  apertis 
Templorum  idcirco,  ponitus  ante  foras." 

^  "  Nam  Physiologus  de  catulo  Leonis  scribit,  quod  quum 
fuerit  natus,  tribus  diebus  et  tribus  noctibus  dormiat,  quod 
valde  convenientur  aptatur  in  Christo,  qui  tribus  diebus  et 
tribus  noctibus  in  corde  terric  sepultus,  somnium  mortis 
implevit." — In  Genestm,  Hom.  xvii. 


In    Ecclesiastical    Architecture       87 

This  type  of  spiritual  vigilance  is  found  most 
frequently  in  Romanic  and  early  Gothic  archi- 
tecture, from  the  beginning  of  the  ninth  to  the  end 
of  the  thirteenth  century.  Usually  the  lions  repose 
on  either  side  of  the  principal  entrance,  or  stand 
on  pillars  in  the  portico  of  the  edifice,  or  serve, 
especially  in  Italian  churches,  as  pedestals  to  sup- 
port the  columns  of  the  doorway.  Examples  of 
this  kind  may  be  seen  in  the  cathedral  of  Mayencc, 
the  oldest  churches  of  Cologne,  the  so-called  Schot- 
tenkirche  (former  church  of  Scotch  Benedictines) 
in  Ratisbon,  St.  Stephen's  in  Vienna,  and  in  various 
structures  of  an  ecclesiastical  character  at  Ancona, 
Monza,  Padua,  Parma,  Ravenna,  Rome,  Siponto, 
and  other  Italian  cities. 

In  some  instances  the  same  beast  may  sym- 
bolize utterly  opposing  principles,  since  it  embodies 
antagonistic  qualities.^  The  lion,  for  example,  is 
not  only  typical  of  Christ  triumphing  over  death 
and  hell  and  loosing  the  seven  seals  from  the  book 
of  life  (Rev.  v.  5),  but  also  signifies  the  great 
adversary,  the  devil,  which,  "as  a  roaring  lion, 
walketh  about,  seeking  whom  he  may  devour" 
(i  Peter  v.  8).  This  is  the  lion  from  whose  mouth 
the  Psalmist  prays  to  be  saved  (Ps.  xxii.  21),  and 
to  which  St.  Augustine  refers  when  he  exclaims  in 
his  Sernio  de  Tempore  (clxxiv.),  "who  would  not 

1  "Secundum  regnum  ergo  Christo  adsimilata  sunt.  Et 
alia  multa  sunt  in  creaturis  habentia  duplicem  intellectum  ; 
alia  quaidam  laudabilia,  alia  vero  vituperabilia  ;  et  differen- 
tiam  habent  inter  se  atque  discretionem,  sive  moribus  sive 
naturis." 


88  Animal    Symbolism 

rush  into  the  jaws  of  this  lion,  if  the  lion  of  the 
tribe  of  Judah  should  not  prevail !  It  is  lion 
against  lion,  and  lamb  against  wolf."  The  lion  of 
the  tribe  of  Judah  is  opposed  to  the  devouring  lion, 
and  the  lamb  as  the  type  of  the  meek  and  lowly 
Saviour  is  opposed  to  the  fierce  and  insatiable 
wolf  as  the  type  of  Satan.  Christ,  he  adds,  "is 
a  lion  in  fortitude,  a  lamb  in  innocence;  a  lion  be- 
cause He  is  invincible,  a  lamb  because  He  is  meek 
and  gentle."  In  another  discourse  (Hom.  xxxiv.) 
St.  Augustine  says  the  devil  is  impetuous  as  the 
lion  and  insidious  as  the  dragon,  raging  openly 
like  the  former  and  lying  in  wait  secretly  like  the 
latter.  In  former  times  the  Church  fought  against 
the  lion  as  it  now  fights  against  the  dragon.  In 
Sermo  clxxix.  the  lion  and  the  bear  typify  the 
devil,  "  who  is  figured  in  these  two  beasts,  because 
the  bear's  strength  is  in  its  paw  and  the  lion's  in 
its  mouth."  In  Sermo  cxcvii.  he  says  that  as 
David  throttled  the  lion  and  the  bear,  which  took 
a  lamb  out  of  the  flock,  so  Jesus  Christ,  whom 
David  prefigured,  throttled  the  lion  and  the  bear, 
when  He  descended  into  hell  and  delivered  the 
captive  spirits  out  of  their  jaws.  Thus  both  these 
animals  are  different  embodiments  of  the  Protean 
prince  of  darkness.  On  the  bronze  doors  of  the 
cathedral  in  Hildesheim  are  reliefs  which  date 
from  1015,  and  represent  the  history  of  sin  and 
redemption ;  in  one  of  them  a  bear  stands  behind 
Pilate,  whispering  into  his  ear  and  filling  his  mind 
with  diabolical  suggestions.     The  bear  as  the  type 


In    Ecclesiastical    Architecture        89 


of  Satan  is  found  less  frequently  in  architecture 
than  in  illuminated  manuscripts  and  missals,  and 
in  carvings  on  caskets,  crosiers,  shrines,  and  other 
minor  objects  of  art. 

Christ  trampling  on  a  lion,  an  adder,  or  a  dragon 
(Ps.  xci.  13)  is  often  used  to  indicate  His  triumph 
over  the  powers  of  hell.  The  same  idea  was 
intended  to  be  expressed  by  sculpturing  figures  of 
deceased  persons  reclining  on  tombs  with  their  feet 
resting  on  a  lion,  a  dragon,  or  a  dog,  which  was 
likewise  regarded  as  an  incarnation  of  the  evil 
principle,  in  conformity  with  the  apostle's  asser- 
tion, "For  without  are  dogs."  At  a  later  period 
the  lion  at  the  feet  of  a  man  symbolized  manly 
strength  and  courage,  and  the  dog  at  the  feet  of 
a  woman  signified  undying  love  and  fidelity.  It 
was  the  substitution  of  the  Aryan  for  the  Semitic 
point  of  view  that  reversed  the  meaning  of  the 
symbolism. 

The  diabolification  of  the  dog  was  due  to  the 
Hebrew  misconception  of  its  character ;  and  it  is 
a  curious  fact  that  the  Jews,  who  endowed  a 
rapacious  and  offensive  creature  like  the  vulture 
with  fictitious  virtues,  should  have  had  no  proper 
appreciation  of  one  of  the  noblest  and  most  useful 
of  their  domestic  animals.  The  affection  and 
fidelity  of  the  dog  seem  to  have  made  hardly  any 
impression  upon  them.  This  oldest  and  most  trusty 
companion  of  man  is  rarely  referred  to  by  them 
except  in  terms  of  contempt,  and  it  is  from  this 
source  that  many  derogatory  expressions  concerning 


90  Animal    Symbolism 

dogs  have  passed  into  the  common  speech  of  to- 
day. When  Elisha  foretells  the  cruel  conduct  of 
Hazael,  the  latter  exclaims :  "  Is  thy  servant  a 
dog  that  he  should  do  this  great  thing?"  Job 
expresses  the  same  scornful  feeling  when  he  says  : 
"  Now  they  that  are  younger  than  I  have  me  in 
derision,  whose  fathers  I  would  have  disdained  to 
have  set  with  the  dogs  of  my  flock."  Only  in  the 
apocryphal  Tobit  (v.  i6;  x.  14)  is  the  dog  treated 
in  some  degree  as  the  friend  and  associate  of  man. 
Thus  when  Tobias  and  his  companion  set  out  on 
their  journey  to  Media  to  collect  a  debt,  it  is  said  : 
"So  they  went  forth  both,  and  the  young  man's 
dog  with  them" — a  simple  touch  that  adds  im- 
mensely to  the  beauty  and  realism  of  the  picture. 
In  the  New  Testament  dogs  are  pariah  beasts 
completely  out  of  the  pale  of  human  interest  and 
sympathy.  There  is  an  old  legend  that  Jesus  once 
saw  a  crowd  of  persons  gathered  round  the  carcass 
of  a  dog,  and  giving  utterance  to  their  disgust  at 
the  sight  of  such  a  loathsome  beast.  But  as  Jesus 
looked  upon  it  He  said :  "  How  white  its  teeth 
are ! "  The  story  is  intended  to  illustrate,  not  His 
higher  and  truer  estimation  of  the  worth  of  the 
animal,  but  His  own  nobility  of  character,  and  the 
generous  optimism  which  avoided  evil-speaking, 
and  could  discover  admirable  qualities  even  in  so 
hideous  a  creature  as  a  dead  dog.  Indeed  there  is 
nothing  in  Hebrew  or  early  Christian  literature  to 
be  compared  with  Homer's  sympathetic  description 
of  Ulysses'  dog  Argus,  or  Arrian's  characterization 


In    Ecclesiastical    Architecture        91 

of  the  greyhound  Horme  (op/x?/,  "impetuous"),  "the 
swiftest,  sagest,  and  divinest "  of  beasts.  With 
what  fine  appreciation  he  dwells  upon  her  cunning 
and  cleverness,  and  other  excellent  traits  !  ^Elian 
relates  {De  Nat.  Aitiinal.,v\\.  38)  that  a  Magnesian 
war-hound,  which  distinguished  itself  at  Marathon, 
was  honoured  with  an  Q^gy  on  the  same  tablet 
that  recorded  the  valour  of  its  master.  The  Avesta 
and  other  sacred  books  of  the  Parsis  enjoin  the 
greatest  kindness  and  reverence  towards  the  dog, 
whose  sagacity,  vigilance,  and  fidelity  are  regarded 
as  the  pillars  of  pastoral  society  ;  and  in  the  Indian 
epic,  the  Mahabhdrata,  the  hero  Yudhishthira  re- 
fuses to  enter  Indra's  heaven  unless  "his  faithful 
dog  shall  bear  him  company." 

In  the  porch  of  Freiburg  Minster  are  delinea- 
tions of  the  deeds  of  Samson  in  carrying  off  the 
gates  of  Gaza,  tearing  open  the  lion's  jaws,  and 
performing  other  exploits  supposed  to  foreshadow 
the  redeeming  power  of  Christ.  In  this  work  the 
artist  embodies  the  ideas  of  patristic  exegetists, 
who  show  a  vast  amount  of  misapplied  ingenuity 
in  tracing  analogies  between  the  career  of  the 
Hebrew  solar  hero  and  that  of  the  Sun  of 
righteousness.  (Cf.  St.  Augustine's  De  Samsone, 
Sermo  I.) 

The  column-sustaining  lions,  so  often  placed  at 
the  entrance  of  the  churches,  or  used  to  support 
pulpits,  as  in  Pisa,  Sienna,  Lucca,  Chiusi,  and 
elsewhere  in  Italy,  and  especially  in  Tuscany, 
represent    Satan   subdued    and    subjected   to   the 


92  Animal  Symbolism 

service  of  Christianity.  The  same  is  true  of  the 
lion's  head  on  the  doors  of  the  baptistery  at 
Florence,  and  the  cathedrals  of  Mayence  and 
Hildesheim.  In  the  vestibule  of  the  cathedral  of 
Piacenza,  dating  from  the  first  half  of  the  twelfth 
century,  as  well  as  in  many  ecclesiastical  edifices 
in  Ferrara,  Modena,  and  Rome,  the  columns  rest 
upon  the  shoulders  of  men  with  lions  underneath 
them,  which  have  seized  other  men  as  their  prey. 
They  symbolize  heretics,  whom  the  devil  has  got 
possession  of,  but  who  are  overcome  by  the  power 
of  truth,  and  made  to  uphold  the  orthodox  faith. 
Among  other  sculptures  on  the  doors  of  a  church 
in  Novgorod,  is  the  head  of  a  lion  with  open  jaws, 
in  which  are  seen  the  faces  of  the  damned  writhing 
with  agony,  and  above  it  the  inscription  :  "  Hell 
consuming  sinners."  St.  Augustine,  in  his  Scrmo 
de  Tempore  (Ixv.),  compares  Daniel  in  the  lions' 
den  with  the  temptation  of  Jesus  in  the  wilderness ; 
but  it  is  more  commonly  interpreted  as  typical  of 
Christ's  descent  into  hell,  as,  for  example,  at  the 
entrance  of  the  church  of  St.  Porchaire  in  France. 

The  characteristics  attributed  to  the  Hon  in  the 
PJiysiologiis  were  familiar  to  medifeval  poets,  and 
furnished  them  with  an  ample  fund  of  metaphorical 
material.  Thus  Wolfram  von  Eschenbach,  in  his 
most  celebrated  poem,  compares  the  hero  Parzival 
and  his  half-brother  Feirefiz  to  two  lion's  whelps 
roused  to  life  and  energy  by  the  roar  of  battle. 
Again,  in  his  epic  Willehalm,  he  declares  that  in 
the  fierce  combat  between  Christians  and  paynims 


In    Ecclesiastical    Architecture        93 

at  Alischanz  the  noise  produced  by  the  blare  of 
trumpets,  the  roll  of  drums,  and  the  shouts  of 
contending  hosts  was  loud  enough  to  call  to  life  a 
lion's  whelps. 

Thomasin  von  Zirclare,  in  the  Welscher  Gast, 
which  describes  court-life  in  Italy,  and  lays  down 
general  rules  of  conduct  for  princes,  says  that  when 
sovereigns  have  done  wrong,  they  should  blot  out 
all  traces  of  it  by  humble  repentance  and  increased 
beneficence,  as  the  lion  escapes  pursuit  by  obliter- 
ating its  foot-prints  with  its  tail.  Elsewhere  he 
advises  monarchs  never  to  act  on  the  impulse  of 
the  moment,  but  to  give  heed  to  three  things  before 
putting  any  project  into  practice :  listen  to  coun- 
sellors, compare  their  views,  and  adopt  the  best 
advice,  as  the  lion's  whelps  lie  three  days  dormant 
after  they  are  born.  The  simile,  in  this  case,  is 
ridiculously  inapt,  but  the  PJiysiologtis  gives  the 
key  to  it,  and  renders  it  at  least  intelligible.  The 
same  zoological  myth  was  evidently  in  the  mind 
of  the  old  Spanish  poet,  Juan  de  Mena,  when  he 
described  the  mother  of  Lorenzo  d'Avalos  as 
lamenting  like  a  lioness  ("  como  al  que  pare  haze  la 
leona  ")  over  her  dead  son.  Amorozzo  da  Firenze 
expresses  the  intensity  of  his  susceptibility  to  the 
tender  passion  by  asserting  that  the  voice  of  his 
lady-love  would  suffice  to  revive  him  from  death, 
as  the  voice  of  the  lion  reanimates  its  young.  A 
Provencal  erotic  poet,  Richard  de  Berbezilh,  uses 
the  same  imagery  to  illustrate  the  same  sentiment. 
Another  old    French   poet,   Guirant   de  Calanson, 


94  Animal  Symbolism 

says :  "  As  the  lion  sleeps  with  open  eyes  {Jmelks 
ubertz\  so  my  spirit,  even  in  slumber,  beholds 
thee,  O  lady." 

Meister  Stolle,  in  the  Wartbiirgkrieg,  would 
endow  princes  with  the  voice  of  the  lion  and  the 
eyes  of  the  ostrich,  which  hatches  its  eggs  by 
gazing  at  them,  so  that  they  might  rouse  and 
animate  their  followers  by  word  and  look,  inciting 
them  to  noble  and  knightly  achievements.  Rein- 
mar  von  Zweter  praises  the  "  ostrich  eyes  "  of  the 
Emperor  Friedrich  II.,  as  inspiriting  and  life- 
giving  ;  and  Pierre  Espagnol  informs  us  that  the 
eyes  of  his  lady-love  are  incubatory  like  those  of 
the  ostrich,  causing  sighs  to  germinate  and  spring 
up  in  his  heart  whenever  she  turns  upon  him  an 
ardent  glance. 

The  next  animal  mentioned  in  the  Physiologus 
is  the  lizard,  which,  when  it  gets  blind  in  its  old 
age,  creeps  into  the  crevice  of  a  wall  looking 
towards  the  east,  and  stretches  out  its  head  to 
the  rising  sun,  whose  rays  restore  its  sight.  "  In 
like  manner,  O  man,  thou  who  hast  on  the  old 
garment,  and  the  eyes  of  whose  heart  are  obscured, 
seek  the  wall  of  help,  and  watch  there  until  the  sun 
of  righteousness,  which  the  prophet  calls  the  day- 
spring,  rises  with  healing  power  and  removes  thy 
spiritual  blindness." 

Representations  of  a  lizard  running  along  a  wall 
or  peeping  out  of  some  chink  in  it,  either  sculptured 
in  stone  or  carved  in  wood,  are  not  uncommon  in 
mediaeval  churches,  especially  among  the  decora- 


In    Ecclesiastical    Architecture       95 

tions  of  the  chancel.  It  was  not  the  mere  caprice 
of  the  architect  that  put  the  reptile  there,  but  its 
presence  is  due  to  its  significance  as  a  symbol  of 
the  regenerating  and  illuminating  influence  of  the 
gospel. 

The  unicorn  is  another  favourite  type,  and  is 
thus  described  by  the  Physiologus :  "It  is  a  small 
animal,  but  exceeding  strong  and  fleet,  with  a 
single  horn  in  the  centre  of  its  forehead.  The  only 
means  of  capturing  it  is  by  stratagem,  namely, 
by  decking  a  chaste  virgin  with  beautiful  ornaments 
and  seating  her  in  a  solitary  place  in  the  forest 
frequented  by  the  unicorn,  which  no  sooner  perceives 
her  than  it  runs  to  her  and, 
laying  its  head  gently  in  her 
lap,  falls  asleep.  Then  the 
hunters  come  and  take  it  cap- 
tive to  the  king's  palace  and 
receive  for  it  much  treasure." 

Herein  the  unicorn  resem- 

.  111  Capture  of  the  Unicorn. 

bles  our   Saviour,  who  "hath  (Sestiarj'.) 

raised  up  a  horn  of  salvation  for  us  in  the  house 
of  His  servant  David";  and  the  work  of  redemp- 
tion, which  neither  thrones,  nor  dominations,  nor 
heavenly  powers  could  accomplish.  He  brought 
to  pass.  The  mighty  ones  of  this  world  were 
unable  to  approach  Him  or  to  lay  hold  of  Him, 
until  He  abode  in  the  womb  of  the  Virgin  Mary. 
As  it  is  written  :  "And  the  Word  was  made  flesh, 
and  dwelt  among  us,  and  we  beheld  His  glory,  the 
glory  of  the  only-begotten  of  the  Father,  full  of 


96  Animal  Symbolism 

grace  and  truth ; "  or  as  this  passage  is  paraphrased 
in  Le  Bestiaire  Divin — 

"  Sul  por  la  volonte  de  Dieu, 
Passa  Deu  por  la  Virgne  mere  ; 
Et  la  Parole  fut  char  faite, 
Que  virginetd  n'i  ot  fraite." 

In  the  border  of  the  central  lancet  window  in 
the  apsis  of  the  cathedral  at  Lyons  is  a  representa- 
tion of  this  fable  of  the  unicorn  and  the  Virgin 
as  a  symbol  of  Christ's  incarnation.  It  is  rather 
awkwardly  drawn,  and  the  Virgin  seems  to  sit 
astride  of  the  unicorn's  neck,  but  it  was  evidently 
the  intention  of  the  artist  to  have  the  animal's 
head  lying  in  her  lap.  There  is  a  carving  of  the 
same  kind  in  St.  Botolph's  Church  at  Boston, 
Lincolnshire,  and  a  series  of  reliefs  of  a  similar 
character  may  be  seen  in  the  cathedral  at  Toledo, 
in  Spain.  A  curious  German  engraving  of  the 
fifteenth  century,  entitled  "  Von  der  menschwerdong 
gottes  nach  geistlicher  auszlegong  der  hystori  von 
dem  einhoren,"  pictures  the  Annunciation  and  In- 
carnation as  the  chase  of  the  unicorn.  The  arch- 
angel Gabriel,  the  leader  of  the  hunt,  winds  his 
horn,  from  which  is  supposed  to  proceed  the 
melodious  greeting :  "  Hail,  highly-favoured  one, 
the  Lord  is  with  thee,  thou  blessed  among  women  !  " 
The  unicorn,  pursued  by  hounds,  is  running  rapidly 
towards  the  Virgin,  who  sits  with  upturned  eyes 
and  hands  folded  across  her  breast  in  a  state  of 
ecstasy,  while  the  horn  of  the  animal  is  in  perilous 
proximity  to  her  lap.     On  her  right  are  an  altar 


In    Ecclesiastical    Architecture       97 

with  burning  candles  and  a  flowing  fountain,  a 
symbol  of  the  waters  of  eternal  life.  In  the  back- 
ground God  the  Father  holds  a  globe  surmounted 
with  a  cross  in  one  hand,  and  gives  His  benediction 
with  the  other.  The  three  dogs  are  Mercy,  Truth, 
and    Justice,   and    denote    the    attributes   of    the 


Hunting  the  Unicorn.     {Old  German  Engraving.) 

Saviour  and  the  feelings  which  impelled  Him  to 
become  incarnate,  and  to  redeem  the  world  from 
the  dominion  of  Satan. ^  This  symbolism  is  more 
fully  and  clearly  expressed  in  a  German  painting 
of  the    fifteenth  or  perhaps  the  beginning  of  the 

1  Cf.  Dr.  Ulrich  Pinder  :  Der  heschlosseji  gart  des  rosen- 
krants  Marie,  Niirnberg,  1505,  Band  II.,  Blatt  ix.  Also 
Cahier  :  Caracteristiqucs  des  Saints  dans  PArt  popiilairc, 
Paris,  1844. 

H 


pS  Animal  Symbolism 

sixteenth  century,  now  belonging  to  the  Grand 
Ducal  Library  of  Weimar.  In  this  extremely 
elaborate  and  highly-finished  work  of  art  there  are 
four  dogs  held  in  leash  and  barking  at  the  unicorn, 
which  is  already  in  the  lap  of  the  Virgin  ;  their 
collars  are  labelled  respectively  Veritas,  Justitia, 
Misericordia,  and  Pax  ;  the  first  two  are  dark- 
brown,  the  third  light-brown,  and  the  fourth  white. 
The  Virgin  wears  a  greenish-brown  dress  studded 
with  golden  flowers,  and  a  green  mantle.  Gabriel 
is  arrayed  in  scarlet,  and  has  wings  of  many 
brilliant  hues.  Gideon  kneels  behind  her  on  his 
fleece  of  wool  (Judges  vi.  36-40).  In  the  back- 
ground is  a  city  representing  Zion.  To  the  right 
of  the  Virgin  in  the  sky  appears  God  the  Father, 
with  a  large  wreath  of  oak-leaves  encircling  His 
neck  and  resting  on  His  shoulders.  His  hands 
upraised  in  the  act  of  blessing,  and  the  Christ-child 
descending  on  a  beam  of  light  and  bearing  a  cross. 
At  the  lower  end  of  the  beam  of  light  is  a  dove 
hovering  over  the  Virgin's  head  and  its  beak 
directed  towards  her  ear.  This  attitude  of  the 
dove,  which  is  quite  common,  and  indeed  almost 
universal,  in  mediaeval  and  early  modern  pictures 
of  the  Annunciation,  is  intended  to  indicate  the 
naive  notion  entertained  by  patristic  writers  and 
later  theologians,  that  the  conception  of  Christ  was 
effected  supernaturally  through  the  Virgin's  ear,  so 
that  she  remained  perfectly  pure  and  immaculate, 
and  her  maidenhood  intact.  This  queer  theory 
had  its  origin  probably  in  Gnostic  speculations  and 


In    Ecclesiastical    Architecture       99 

the  Greco-Judaic  religious  philosophy  current  in 
Alexandria,  and  was  the  result  of  a  too  literal 
interpretation  of  the  doctrine  of  the  Logos.  As 
God  spoke  the  world  into  existence,  so  the  voice 
of  the  Most  High  uttering  salutation  through  the 
mouth  of  the  angel  caused  the  Virgin  to  conceive, 
"  and  the  Word  was  made  flesh."  But  as  spoken 
words  are  addressed  to  the  ear,  and  through  this 
organ  find  lodgment  in  the  mind  and  thus  bear 
fruit,  it  was  assumed  that  the  incarnation  of  the 
Logos  was  accomplished  in  the  same  manner : 
"  Deus  per  angelum  loquebatur  et  Virgo  per  aurem 
impregnabatur,"  says  St.  Augustine  {Sermo  de 
Tempore,  xxii.) ;  and  this  view,  which  was  generally 
accepted  by  the  Apostolic  Fathers,  is  expressed  eight 
centuries  later  in  a  verse  attributed  to  Thomas  a 

Becket — 

"  Gaude  Virgo,  mater  Christi, 
Quse  per  aurem  concepisti." 

The  same  description  of  the  miraculous  event  is 
given  by  the  German  mediaeval  poet,  Walther  von 
der  Vogelweide :  "  dur  ir  ore  enphinc  si  den  vil 
suezen."  In  the  parish  church  (formerly  belonging 
to  the  abbey)  of  Eltenberg  on  the  Rhine,  is  an  An- 
nunciation moulded  in  clay,  baked  and  painted,  in 
which  the  infant  Jesus,  attended  by  the  Holy  Spirit, 
descends  from  heaven  on  the  breath  of  God  the 
Father,  and  enters  the  ear  of  the  Virgin.  Similar 
representations  are  to  be  seen  (so  far  as  they  have 
not  been  destroyed)  at  Oppenheim,  on  the  portal  of 
the  cathedral  at  Wiirzburg,  and  elsewhere.     The 


lOO 


Animal  Symbolism 


blast  of  Gabriel's  bugle  in  the  Weimar  painting  is 
no  uncertain  sound,  but  becomes  articulate  as : 
"  Ave  gratia  plena,  Dominus  tecum,"  to  which  the 


The  Annunciation.     {Parish  Church  of  Eltenberg.) 

Virgin  responds :  "  Ecce  ancilla  Domini,  fiat  mihi 
secundum  Verbum  tuum,"  Indeed  the  air  is  full 
of  floating  legends  taken    chiefly  from   the  Song 


In    Ecclesiastical    Architecture      loi 

of  Solomon,  such  as  "  Sicut  lilium  inter  spinas,  sic 
arnica  mea  inter  filias  "  (As  the  lily  among  thorns, 
so  my  love  among  the  daughters) ;  "  Fons  hortorum, 
puteus  aquarum  viventium  quae  fluunt  impetu  de 
Libano  "  (A  fountain  of  gardens,  a  well  of  living 
waters,  and  streams  from  Lebanon) ;  "  Veni  Auster, 
perfla  hortum  et  fluant  aromata"  (Come,  thou 
south,  blow  upon  my  garden  that  the  spices  may 
flow  out) ;  "  Turris  eburnea  "  (Tower  of  ivory),  etc. 
The  Virgin  sits  behind  a  wicker  fence  or  palisade 
in  illustration  of  the  passage:  "A  garden  enclosed 
is  my  sister."  Engravings  of  this  painting  have 
been  frequently  published  ;  as,  for  example,  in  the 
sixth  volume  of  CiLriositdten  der  physch-  literarisch- 
artistisch-  historischen  Vor-  iind  Mitwelt  (Weimar, 
1817,  p.  133);  Revue  Archeologiqiie  {^zx\s,  1844-45, 
p.  462) ;  Das  Evangelische  Jahrbuch,  issued  at 
Berlin ;  and  in  a  recent  Christmas  number  of 
Harper  s  Magazine.  There  is  another  picture  of  a 
similar  character  at  Weimar ;  a  third  was  formerly 
in  the  Hospital  Church  at  Grimmenthal  on  the 
Werra ;  and  a  fourth  is  in  the  cathedral  at  Bruns- 
wick, painted  on  one  of  the  folding  compartments 
of  a  triptych  or  altar-piece.  The  Virgin  with  the 
unicorn  in  her  lap  is  on  the  outside,  and  the  angel 
as  huntsman  with  horn,  spear,  and  dogs  on  the 
inside.  Out  of  the  mouth  of  the  animal  proceed 
the  words  :  "  Quia  quem  Cceli  capere  non  possunt, 
in  tuo  gremio  contulisti," — a  punning  form  of  ex- 
pression, which  may  refer  either  to  the  incarnation 
of  Christ,  or  to  the  hunting  of  the  unicorn  :  "  Whom 


I02  Animal  Symbolism 

the  heavens  (highest  powers)  could  not  contain 
(capture),  thou  didst  hold  (take)  in  thy  womb  (lap)." 
The  Virgin  has  a  blue  robe,  the  lower  part  of  which 
is  reddish ;  a  basket  of  manna  is  at  her  feet,  and 
near  her  the  legend  :  "  Fons  signatus  "  (a  fountain 
sealed).  The  angel  is  dressed  in  white  with  a  red 
mantle  floating  in  the  wind,  and  has  four  dogs 
in  the  leash,^  In  the  Grimmenthal  picture  the 
symbolism  is  still  more  striking.  On  the  left  of 
the  tall  and  majestic  angel  is  a  lion  howling  over 
two  motionless  whelps,  with  the  legend  "  Maria  Leo," 
and  just  before  him  the  eternal  city  or  perennity  of 
God  {Perennitas  Dei) ;  above  the  gate  of  heaven 
{Porta  Cceli)  God  the  Father  appears  in  the  clouds 
between  the  sun  and  the  moon  ;  across  the  disc  of 
the  former  are  the  words  "  clara  ut  sol "  (clear  as 
the  sun),  and  issuing  from  the  mouth  of  the  human 
face  defined  in  the  crescent  of  the  latter  the  words, 
"  Pulchra  ut  luna  "  (fair  as  the  moon).  On  the  left 
of  the  painting  is  a  star  {stella  maris),  and  on  the 
right  a  pelican  feeding  its  young  with  its  blood, 
and  Moses  talking  with  Jehovah  in  the  burning 
bush.  In  the  centre  is  Gideon  kneeling  on  his 
fleece ;  behind  him  is  the  flowing  fountain  of  the 
waters  of  eternal  life  ;  above  it  a  mirror  with  the 
Inscription,  "  speculum  sine  macula "  (a  mirror 
without  spot).  An  engraving  of  this  picture,  but 
without  any  interpretation  of  its  symbolism,  was 

*  Cf.  Ribbentrop  :  Beschreibun^  der  Stadt  Braunschweig, 
where  this  work  of  art  is  ascribed,  but  without  sufficient 
reason,  to  Lucas  Cranach. 


In    Ecclesiastical    Architecture      103 

published  in  Friedrich  Rudolphi's  Gotha  Diplo- 
matica  oder  Aiisfuhrliche  Historische  Beschreibiing 
des  FurstentJiiims  Saclisen-GotJia  (Frankfurt  am 
Main  und  Leipzig,  1717,  p.  310).  It  was  an  altar- 
piece,  and  was  probably  the  work  of  Paul  Lauten- 
sack,  better  known  as  Meister  Paul  of  Bamberg, 
who  was  born  in  that  city  in  1478,  and  died  in  1558 
at  Nuremberg,  as  an  ardent  and  rather  fanatical 
Protestant.  In  the  latter  half  of  the  fifteenth  and 
the  early  part  of  the  sixteenth  century,  Grim- 
menthal  was  a  noted  place  of  pilgrimage,  where 
many  miraculous  cures  were  said  to  have  been 
effected  through  the  agency  of  the  Holy  Virgin. 
The  ruling  prince,  Wilhelm,  of  the  House  of 
Henneberg,  a  zealous  Catholic,  employed  Meister 
Paul  to  decorate  the  interior  of  the  church,  and  the 
artist  devoted  himself  for  ten  years  to  the  task, 
and  received  twelve  thousand  florins  for  his  services, 
a  sum  regarded  at  that  time  as  an  exceedingly 
munificent  remuneration.  People  flocked  to  this 
wonder-working  shrine  from  all  the  countries  of 
Europe,  and  no  less  than  forty-four  thousand 
persons  are  reported  to  have  visited  it  in  a  single 
year.  The  maimed,  the  halt,  and  the  blind  were 
healed  of  their  infirmities,  but  the  medical  virtue 
of  the  Madonna  manifested  itself  most  strikingly 
as  a  specific  for  syphilis,  .or  the  Venusseuche,  as 
it  was  commonly  termed.  According  to  an  old 
Latin  chronicler,  there  was  in  1 503  "  a  grand  pere- 
grination to  the  Blessed  Virgin  at  Grimmenthal, 
where  an  immense  concourse  gathered,  chiefly  on 


I  ©4  Animal  Symbolism 

account  of  the  French  malady,  otherwise  called 
acute  and  burning  leprosy  ('  principaliter  propter 
malum  Franzosiae,  alias  acutam  lepram  ac  arden- 
tem  dictam '),  that  raged  for  a  period  of  more 
than  ten  years,  during  which  time  some  three 
hundred  Moorish  knights  or  Ethiops  ('quasi  300 
Mauri  equites  sive  Aethyopes')  passed  through 
Silesia  journeying  thither."  ^  The  Reformation 
naturally  tended  to  check  these  pilgrimages,  arid 
finally  put  a  stop  to  them  altogether.  Luther 
himself  felt  a  strong  antipathy  to  this  holy  shrine, 
which  he  denounced  as  "  ein  rechtes  Grimmenthal, 
Vallem  furoris."  In  1525  the  revenues  derived 
from  pious  offerings  were  so  small  that  they  hardly 
sufficed  to  defray  current  expenses,  and  in  1547 
the  buildings,  which  formerly  served  to  lodge 
pilgrims,  were  converted  into  a  hospital,  and  the 
church  was  henceforth  used  merely  for  the  cure  of 
souls.  But,  although  the  method  of  healing  had 
been  officially  secularized,  the  sacred  place  pre- 
served to  a  certain  degree  its  traditional  reputation 
in  the  minds  of  the  people,  until  in  1767  the 
church,  with  all  of  Meister  Paul's  paintings,  was 
destroyed  by  fire.  The  Virgin  with  a  unicorn 
resting  its  head  in  her  lap  is  quite  common  in 
ecclesiastical  architecture,  especially  in  stained 
windows,  as  for  example  in  St.  Redegonde,  at 
Caen.  Again,  in  an  Italian  engraving  of  the  six 
triumphs   of  Petrarch,   dating   from   the   fifteenth 

^  Licurii  Append,  ad  Fasciciil.  Tempor.  ap.  Pistorii  Script. 
Rerum  Gertnamcarufii  Vet.,  Francof.,  1707,  torn,  ii.,  p.  600. 


In    Ecclesiastical    Architecture      105 

century,  and  belonging  to  the  Albertine  collection 
in  Vienna,  the  triumph  of  chastity  is  symbolized 
by  a  virgin  seated  and  a  unicorn  with  its  head  in 
her  lap.  In  the  background  is  a  hunter  blow- 
ing a  horn,  and  rapidly  approaching  with  a  pack 
of  dogs.  In  another  engraving  illustrating  the 
same  triumph  the  car  of  chastity  is  drawn  by 
unicorns. 

Superstitious  notions  about  the  peculiar  virtue 
inherent  in  the  unicorn's  horn  were  quite  current  in 
the  middle  ages.  Thus  John  of  Herse,  who  made 
a  pilgrimage  to  Jerusalem  in  1389,  records  his 
observations  on  this  point.  "  Near  the  field  Helyon 
in  the  Holy  Land,"  he  says,  "  is  the  river  Mara, 
whose  bitter  waters  Moses  struck  with  his  staff 
and  made  sweet,  so  that  the  children  of  Israel 
could  drink  thereof  Even  now,  evil  and  unclean 
beasts  poison  it  after  the  going  down  of  the  sun ; 
but  in  the  morning,  after  the  powers  of  darkness 
have  disappeared,  the  unicorn  comes  from  the  sea 
and  dips  its  horn  into  the  stream,  and  thereby 
expels  and  neutralizes  the  poison,  so  that  the  other 
animals  can  drink  of  it  during  the  day.  The  fact, 
which  I  describe,  I  have  seen  with  my  own  eyes." 
This  story  furnishes  an  excellent  illustration  of  the 
value  of  human  testimony,  and  the  conclusiveness 
of  ocular  evidence,  showing  the  little  confidence 
to  which  the  report  of  an  extraordinary  event  is 
entitled,  even  when  it  rests,  not  upon  hearsay,  but 
upon  the  positive  statement  of  an  honest  eye- 
witness.    That  John  of   Herse  meant  to  tell  the 


io6  Animal   Symbolism 

truth,  and  thought  he  observed  what   he  records, 
there  is  not  the  sHghtest  reason  to  doubt. 

On  account  of  this  supposed  anti-toxical  pro- 
perty, the  unicorn's  horn  was  used  for  making 
spoons  (so-called  test-spoons),  salt-cellars,  and 
especially  drinking-cups.  Articles  manufactured 
of  this  material  held  a  prominent  or  rather  an 
important  place  in  the  table-service  of  mediaeval 
nobles  and  princes,  and  were  prized  as  a  sure 
protection  against  all  sorts  of  poison,  as  well  as  a 
specific  for  epilepsy  and  other  forms  of  convulsion. 
A  closer  examination  of  these  objects,  which  are 
now  preserved  as  curiosities  in  museums,  proves 
them  to  have  been  fabricated  from  the  tusks  of  the 
narwal. 

Equally  spurious  are  the  so-called  griffin's  claws 
now  preserved  as  relics  in  churches  or  as  curiosities 
in  museums,  as  for  example  in  the  churches  of 
Hildesheim,  Weimar,  Cologne,  and  Gran  on  the 
Danube,  and  in  the  museums  of  Dresden,  Vienna, 
and  other  European  cities.  They  are  simply  horns 
of  the  Caffrarian  buffalo.  An  interesting  specimen 
of  this  kind  is  in  the  old  abbey  on  the  Inde, 
founded  by  Lewis  the  Debonair  in  the  ninth  cen- 
tury, and  now  known  as  Cornelimiinster,  because  it 
contains  the  relics  of  the  canonized  Pope  Cornelius, 
among  which  the  saint's  horn  or  drinking-cup, 
styled  the  griffin's  claw,  holds  the  most  conspicuous 
place.  Hagiologists  even  tell  us  that  a  griffin  gave 
it  to  the  holy  man  out  of  gratitude  for  having 
been  miraculously  healed  of  epilepsy.     This  legend 


In    Ecclesiastical    Architecture      107 

is  related  as  an  historical  fact  as  late  as  1755  in 
the  Heiligthunishiichlein,  issued  for  the  guidance 
and  edification  of  pilgrims  to  the  sacred  shrine. 
On  such  occasions  wonderful  cures  are  believed  to 
be  wrought  by  pouring  holy  water  from  this  horn 
on  the  sick  and  infirm.  It  has  been  customary 
for  the  last  five  centuries  to  exhibit  these  relics 
once  in  seven  years  for  healing  purposes. 

Samuel  Bochart,  in  his  Hierozoico7i^  written 
about  the  middle  of  the  seventeenth  century, 
cites  a  number  of  Arabian  authors,  who  enlarge 
upon  the  marvellous  peculiarities  of  the  unicorn's 
horn.  Among  other  curious  statements,  it  is  said 
that  if  the  horn  be  cut  lengthwise,  it  will  be 
found  to  contain  the  figure  of  a  man,  a  beast,  a 
bird,  or  a  flower,  beautifully  designed  in  white, 
and  filling  the  whole  shape  from  the  tip  to  the 
base. 

In  the  Parzival  of  Wolfram  von  Eschenbach, 
among  various  remedies  employed  to  heal  the 
wound  of  Anfortas,  king  of  the  Gral,  the  heart  of 
a  unicorn  and  the  carbuncle  growing  under  its 
horn  are  mentioned.  In  the  same  poem  Queen 
Orgeluse's  lover,  Cidegast,  whom  Gramoflanz  has 
slain  in  combat,  is  extolled  as  "  a  unicorn  in 
fidelity."  In  Heinrich  Frauenlob's  Kreuzleich  (Lay 
of  the  Cross),  Konrad  von  Wiirzburg's  Goldene 
Schniiede  (Golden  Smithy),  and  other  poems  of  the 
thirteenth  and  fourteenth  centuries  in  praise  of  the 
Virgin,  God  the  Father  is  represented  as  a  hunts- 
man, pursuing  the  unicorn  until  it  takes  refuge  in 


io8  Animal    Symbolism 

the  womb  of  the  immaculate  Mary.  Reinmar  von 
Zweter  lauds  the  power  of  chastity;  which  was 
stronger  than  the  Almighty ;  and  Hugo  von  Lan- 
genstein  celebrates  in  florid  and  somewhat  motley 
allegory  the  majesty  of  the  maid  whose  loveliness 
and  purity  captivated  and  conciliated  heaven's  uni- 
corn, and  thus  averted  the  Divine  wrath  from  our 
sinful  world.  In  a  German  hymn  of  the  fifteenth 
century  addressed  to  the  Virgin,  she  is  said  to  have 
"tamed  the  unicorn  and  the  hind  ";  and  in  a  hunt- 
ing-song, quoted  by  Lauchert  from  Uhland's  collec- 
tion (No.  339),  the  whole  scheme  of  redemption  is 
set  forth  as  the  outcome  of  the  fascinations  of  "  ein 
seuberlichs  junkfrewelin." 

Metaphors  drawn  from  the  fabled  habits  of  the 
unicorn,  or  allusions  to  them,  are  frequently  met 
with  in  the  effusions  of  mediaeval  erotic  poets,  who, 
like  the  unicorn,  would  fain  lay  their  heads  in  the 
laps  of  their  ladies  and  be  enslaved  by  their 
charms.  The  Suabian  knight  and  minnesinger, 
Burkhart  von  Hohenfels,  likens  himself  to  the 
unicorn,  because  a  fair  woman  has  allured  him  to 
his  destruction  ;  and  Guido  Cavalcanti,  the  contem- 
porary and  friend  of  Dante,  makes  use  of  the  same 
imagery  in  a  sonnet  addressed  to  Guido  Orlandi, 
who  was  languishing  in  fatal  thraldom  to  the  all- 
subduing  passion.  Thibault,  Count  of  Champagne 
and  King  of  Navarre,  describes  in  one  of  his  lyrics 
the  treachery  of  the  hunters,  who  catch  and  kill  the 
unicorn  while  lying  faint  and  languishing  in  the 
virgin's  lap,  and  adds — 


In    Ecclesiastical    Architecture      109 

"  Thus  Love  and  my  Lady  have  done  to  me, 
And  my  heart  can  never  again  be  free."  ^ 

'  The  Unicorn,  like  the  lion,  has  a  twofold  signifi- 
cation, and  in  the  Waldensian  PJiysiologiis  stands 
for  Satan,  who  can  be  overcome  only  by  purity 
and  innocence.  The  enmity  of  the  unicorn  to  the 
elephant,  described  by  Isidore,  and  enlarged  upon 
by  the  author  of  Le  Bestiaire  Divin,  tends  also  to 
confuse  the  spiritual  meaning,  since  both  of  these 
animals  are  types  of  Christ.  The  elephant  is,  how- 
ever, in  this  case,  as  we  shall  see  hereafter,  a  sym- 
bol of  fallen  humanity.  The  Latin  texts  and  the 
later  popular  versions  of  the  Pliysiologus  carry 
out  the  religious  symbolism  of  the  unicorn  into 
the  minutest  doctrinal  detail.  Thus  the  single 
horn  signifies  the  oneness  of  the  Father  and  the 
Son,  while  the  smallness  of  the  animal  and  its 
similarity  to  the  he-goat  express  the  exceeding 
humility  and  condescension  of  Christ  in  consenting 
to  become  incarnate  in  the  likeness  of  sinful  man. 

According  to  Albertus  Magnus,  the  horn  of  the 
African  viper  was  said  to  rival  that  of  the  unicorn 
in  its  sensitiveness  to  poisons,  and  to  show  their 
presence  by  emitting  perspiration ;  for  this  reason, 
he  adds,  it  was  used  for  the  handles  of  table-knives. 
This  statement,  however,  he  gives  with  reserve,  as 
not  sufficiently  proven :  "  sed  hoc  non  satis  proba- 
tum  est"  {De  Animal,  lib.  XXV.  vi.  66^).     Of  the 

'  "  Et  moi  ont  fait  de  tel  semblant 
Amors  et  ma  Dame,  por  voir  ; 
Mon  cuer  n'en  puis  point  ravoir," 


1 10  Animal    Symbolism 

antidotal  and  prophylactic  virtue  of  the  unicorn's 
horn  in  such  cases  the  erudite  Dominican  and 
"  doctor  universalis  "  does  not  seem  to  have  enter- 
tained the  slightest  doubt. 

In  the  Alexanderlied  of  Pfaffen  Lamprecht  we 
are  told  that  Queen  Candace — whose  kingdom  was 
"  on  the  edge  of  the  earth's  abyss,  where  the  sky 
revolves  round  it  like  a  wheel  on  its  axis " — pre- 
sented the  Macedonian  conqueror  with  a  live  uni- 
corn, which  had  been  captured  by  means  of  a  decoy 
virgin.  The  animal  is  described  by  the  poet  as  a 
highly  heterogeneous  and  utterly  impossible  crea- 
ture, having  the  body  of  a  horse,  the  tail  of  a  pig, 
the  head  of  a  stag,  the  feet  of  an  elephant,  and  a 
long  horn  projecting  from  its  forehead.  The  car- 
buncle concealed  at  the  root  of  this  horn  is  also 
mentioned,  and  its  medicinal  properties,  so  often 
described  in  mediaeval  pharmacopoeias,  are  extolled. 

The  elephant,  says  the  PJiysiologus,  is  a  very 
intelligent  animal,  but  has  an  exceedingly  cold 
and  passionless  temperament.  Therefore,  when  the 
time  for  copulation  comes,  the  male  and  female 
betake  themselves  to  a  region  in  the  neighbour- 
hood of  Paradise,  where  the  mandrake  grows,  and 
eat  of  this  aphrodisiac  plant,  and  thereupon  beget 
young.^    Now  when  the  period  of  parturition  arrives, 

*  The  mandrakes  which  Reuben  found  in  the  field  were 
used  by  his  mother  Leah  for  venereal  purposes  (Gen.  xxx. 
14-16),  and  this  precious  pecuharity  is  enlarged  upon  in 
rabbinical  literature.  The  Greeks  spoke  of  them  as  anthro- 
pomorphic ;  and  according  to  popular  superstition  they 
spring  from  human  sperm  spilled  on  the  ground,  and  are  so 


In    Ecclesiastical    Architecture      1 1 1 


the  female  elephant  goes  into  a  pond  until  the 
water  touches  her  breast,  and  there  brings  forth  her 
young,  as  the  Psalmist  says :  "  Save  me,  O  God, 
for  the  waters  are  come  into  my  soul."  But  the 
male  keeps  watch  in  order  to  ward  off  the  dragon, 
which  dwells  in  the  pond,  and  seeks  to  devour  the 
new-born  elephant. 

The  two  elephants  signify  Adam  and  Eve,  who  ate 
of  the  forbidden  fruit  of  the  tree  of  life,  and  yielding 
to  the  power  of  sensual  passion  excited  by  it,  begat 
children,  and  brought  death  and  woe  into  the  world. 

Another  characteristic  of  the  elephant  is  that 
when  it  falls  down  it  cannot  get  up  again,  since 
it  is  unable  to  bend  its  knees.  For  this  reason 
it  always  sleeps  standing,  and  leans  for  support 
against  a  tree.  The  hunters  take  advantage  of  this 
bodily  defect  and,  having  discovered  its  sleeping- 
place,  saw  the  tree  almost  asunder,  so  that  when 
the  huge  beast  leans  against  it  the  tree  gives  way, 
and  the  elephant  falls  to  the  ground,  and  there  lies 
roaring  helplessly.  Then  the  other  elephants  hasten 
to  its  assistance,  but  all  their  efforts  to  raise  it  up 
are  in  vain ;  at  length  a  small  young  elephant  comes, 
and,  thrusting  its  trunk  under  the  fallen  animal, 
lifts  it  to  its  feet  again.  Now  the  first  elephant 
symbolizes  Adam,  who  fell  "  through  a  tree,"  as  an 
old  English  bestiary  puts  it,  towards  the  fruit  of 
which  he  had  stretched  out  his  hand.     And  all  the 

full  of  animal  life  and  consciousness  that  they  shriek  when 
torn  out  of  the  earth,  so  "  that  living  mortals,  hearing  them, 
run  mad." 


1 1 2  Animal    Symbolism 

great  prophets  and  the  lesser  prophets  essayed  in 
vain  to  restore  him  to  his  iirst  estate ;  but  "  the 
new  elephant,  our  Saviour,"  though  accounted  the 
least  of  all  the  prophets,  was  able  to  accomplish  it, 
becoming  a  servant  and  abasing  Himself  that  we 
might  be  exalted. 

Julius  Caesar,  in  his  commentary  on  the  Gallic 
War  (vi.  27),  in  speaking  of  the  fauna  of  the 
country,  describes  an  animal  something  like  the 
unicorn  as  follows  :  "  There  is  an  ox  having  the 
form  of  a  deer,  from  the  middle  of  whose  forehead, 
between  the  ears,  there  rises  a  single  horn,  longer 
and  straighter  than  the  horns  of  any  other  animal 
known  to  us,  and  spreading  widely  at  the  top  in 
palm-like  branches.  The  appearance  of  the  male 
and  the  female  is  the  same,  and  the  shape  and  size 
of  the  horns  are  similar."  He  then  adds  :  "There 
are  also  animals  called  alces  [elks],  like  a  deer  in 
form  and  colour,  but  larger  in  size.  They  shed 
their  horns,  and  their  legs  are  without  joints  or 
articulations.  They  do  not  lie  down  to  rest,  and 
if  they  happen  to  fall  to  the  ground  they  are 
unable  to  rise.  The  trees  serve  them  for  beds, 
against  which  they  lean,  and  thus,  slightly  reclining, 
take  their  repose.  When  the  hunters  discover  these 
places  of  resort,  they  either  undermine  the  trees  at 
the  roots  or  cut  them  so  far  that  the  trunk  has 
only  the  appearance  of  standing  firmly,  so  that 
when  the  animals  lean  against  them,  according  to 
their  habit,  the  weakened  trees  give  way  and  they 
fall  together  to  the  earth."     The   stiff  and  stilty 


In    Ecclesiastical    Architecture      1 1 3 

manner  in  which  the  elk  holds  its  legs  in  running 
and  leaping,  seems  to  have  led  Caesar  to  infer  that 
they  were  without  joints,  and  from  this  queer  mis- 
take for  such  a  sober  and  accurate  observer  to 
make  the  fabulous  account  of  its  method  of  sleep- 
ing could  have  easily  arisen,  especially  as  this  was 
supposed  to  be  the  case  with  the  elephant,  the 
method  of  capturing  which  is  also  described  in  the 
Spanish  Poema  de  Alexandra  by  Juan  Lorenzo  de 
Segura. 

Mediaeval  poets  use  the  statement  that  the  ele- 
phant gives  birth  in  the  water  as  a  symbol  of 
baptismal  regeneration,  but  the  animal  seldom 
figures  metaphorically  in  madrigals  or  lays  of  love. 
The  inditer  of  an  amorous  sonnet  or  soft  ditty 
would  hardly  venture  to  compare  himself  or  his 
sweetheart  to  the  hugest  and  most  unwieldy  of 
pachyderms.  It  is  rarely  represented  in  sacred 
architecture,  but  is  often  found  embroidered  on 
sacerdotal  vestments,  and  especially  on  chasubles,  as 
a  symbol  of  priestly  chastity.  Haufler  {Archiv  filr 
Kunde  osterreicJiischer  Geschic/itsqiiellen.,  1850,  ii. 
593)  mentions  a  chasuble  of  the  eleventh  century 
at  Gos  near  Loeben  adorned  with  various  animals, 
and  among  them  elephants  with  towers  on  their 
backs,  which  he  thinks  typify  prudence  and  virtue 
equipped  to  resist  the  powers  of  evil.  It  may  be, 
however,  that,  after  the  original  symbolism  was 
forgotten,  the  elephant  continued  to  be  used  merely 
as  a  traditional  decoration,  in  which  case  the 
howdah  and  other   trappings  would  naturally  be 

I 


1 1 4  Animal    Symbolism 

added  without  attaching  to  them  any  special  signifi- 
cation. 

The  serpent  has  four  characteristics:  (i)  When 
it  has  grown  old  and  its  eyes  are  dim,  it  fasts  forty 
days  and  forty  nights  until  its  skin  shrivels  and 
loosens.  Thereupon  it  squeezes  itself  through  a 
narrow  crevice  in  the  rocks,  and  thus  casts  its  skin 
and  renews  its  youth.  And  thou,  O  son  of  man,  if 
thou  desirest  to  put  off  the  old  Adam  and  be  re- 
generated, must  pass  through  the  strait  gate  and 
walk  in  the  narrow  way,  which  leadeth  unto  life. 

(2)  When  the  serpent  goes  to  a  spring  to  drink 
water,  it  leaves  its  venom  in  its  hole ;  so  he,  who 
would  refresh  his  soul  with  the  waters  of  eternal  life, 
must  leave  behind  him  every  sin  of  his  carnal  heart. 

(3)  The  serpent  fears  a  naked  man  and  flees  from 
him,  but  assails  him  when  he  is  clothed.  Those 
who  are  acquainted  with  this  characteristic  of  the 
serpent  throw  off  their  garments,  when  pursued  by 
it,  and  thus  save  their  lives.  So,  too,  when  Adam 
was  naked  in  the  garden  and  had  no  desire  for 
raiment,  the  serpent  could  do  him  no  harm.  In 
like  manner,  if  we  do  not  trouble  ourselves  about 
the  vanities  of  this  world,  we  need  not  fear  the  as- 
saults of  the  wily  serpent,  the  devil.  According  to 
this  doctrine  nudity  is  a  sign  of  innocence  and  the 
sanctified  should  dispense  with  clothing,  which 
originated  in  the  fall  of  man  and  is  a  covering  of 
sin,  that  may  find  a  lurking-place  even  under  the 
scanty  vesture  of  a  fig-leaf  The  Adamites  of  the 
second,  and   the  Picards  of  the  fifteenth  century 


In    Ecclesiastical    Architecture     1 1 5 

held  that  those  whom  Christ  had  redeemed  were 
restored  to  the  original  purity  of  our  first  parents 
in  Eden,  and  should  return  to  the  primitive  habits 
of  the  race,  including  nudity  and  sexual  promiscuity. 
(4)  When  one  seeks  to  kill  the  serpent,  it  exposes 
its  whole  body,  in  order  to  shield  its  head  from  the 
blows  of  its  assailant.  The  application  of  this 
characteristic  to  Christians,  who  should  endure 
every  trial  and  affliction  for  the  sake  of  Christ, 
their  head,  has  already  been  noticed.  The  serpent 
shows  its  wisdom  also  in  this,  that  it  stops  its  ears 
to  the  charmer  and  refuses  to  listen  to  his  spell, 
thus  teaching  us  to  shut  our  ears  to  Satanic  sug- 
gestions. The  notion  that  poisonous  reptiles  could 
be  charmed  so  as  to  prevent  them  from  stinging  or 
to  render  their  bite  harmless,  was  based  on  such 
passages  as  Jer.  viii.  17  and  Ps.  Iviii.  5,  and  seemed 
to  be  confirmed  by  the  wonderful  feats  of  Oriental 
fakirs  and  magicians. 

These  imaginary  attributes  of  the  serpent  are 
occasionally  represented  as  religious  symbols  in 
churches  among  the  wood-carvings  of  the  chancel 
and  the  reliefs  adorning  the  doorways  or  the 
capitals  of  columns,  but  more  frequently  in  the 
illuminations  of  mediaeval  manuscripts.  Still  more 
common  is  the  metaphorical  use  of  them  by  the 
poets  of  the  middle  ages  in  illustration  of  both 
sacred  and  secular  subjects.  Thus  in  one  of  the 
mystic  spiritual  songs  of  the  Minorite  Jacopone  da 
Todi,  the  reputed  and  probable  author  of  the 
Stabat  Mater,  the  first  characteristic  of  the  serpent 


ii6  Animal  Symbolism 

figures  the  love  of  Jesus,  which  purifies  and  renews 
the  soul.  The  third  characteristic  is  applied  in  a 
queer  way  by  a  troubadour,  Bertolome  Zorgi 
(quoted  by  Lauchert,  p.  i86,  from  Diez  :  Leben  und 
Werke  dcr  Troubado7irs),  who  says  of  his  lady-love 
that,  like  the  serpent,  she  flees  from  him  when  he 
is  naked,  and  is  fearless  in  his  presence  only  when 
he  is  clothed,  surely  no  unusual  display  of  timidity 
in  a  modest  dame.  It  is  also  related  in  the  Poema 
de  Alexandra  already  cited,  that  as  the  army  of 
the  Macedonian  monarch  was  passing  through  a 
desert  and  suffering  intensely  from  thirst,  the 
soldiers  found  a  spring,  which,  however,  was  so  sur- 
rounded by  serpents  that  all  who  approached  it 
were  in  danger  of  being  bitten.  But  Alexander, 
who  was  not  less  distinguished  for  wisdom  than  for 
valour,  ordered  the  men  to  strip,  so  that  they  went 
to  the  water  unharmed  by  the  serpents,  which  fled 
from  them  as  from  moving  pillars  of  fire.  The 
author  tells  many  other  marvellous  stories  of  ani- 
mals, and  assures  the  reader  that  they  are  all  true  : 
"esto  es  cosa  vera."  The  serpent  was  likewise 
revered  by  the  Egyptians  as  a  symbol  of  regeneration 
and  the  renewal  of  life. 

The  Physiologus  states  that  when  the  eagle  has 
grown  old  and  its  eyes  have  become  dim  and 
darkened,  it  flies  upward  towards  the  sun  until  it 
has  scorched  its  wings  and  purged  away  the  film 
from  its  eyes  ;  then  it  descends  to  the  earth  and 
plunges  three  times  into  a  spring  of  pure  water. 
Thus  it  recovers  its  sight  and  renews  its  youth.     In 


In    Ecclesiastical    Architecture     117 

like  manner,  when  we  have  grown  old  in  the 
sinful  love  of  this  world,  and  the  eyes  of  the 
heart  are  obscured  thereby, 
then  should  we  seek  the  day- 
star  of  the  divine  word,  and 
fly  aloft  on  the  wings  of  the 
spirit  to  the  sun  of  righteous- 
ness, Christ,  our  Saviour,  who 
will  draw  out  of  us  the  old 
man  with  all  his  works.   And 

when    we   dip    ourselves    thrice       Eagle  renewing  its  youth. 

in  the  new  well-spring  of  sal-  (BesHary.) 

vation  in  the  name  of  the  Father,  the  Son,  and  the 
Holy  Ghost,  then  will  the  old  garment  of  the  devil 
be  taken  away,  and  we  shall  be  clothed  in  the  new 
and  shining  raiment  which  God  hath  made  ready 
for  us. 

The  eagle  can  gaze  at  the  bright  sun  without 
blinking,  and  is  accustomed  to  carry  its  unfledged 
young  on  its  wings  upward  and  compel  them  to 
look  upon  the  shining  orb  ;  those  which  can  do  so 
with  open  and  steadfast  eyes  it  rears,  but  discards 
the  others  and  lets  them  fall  to  the  ground.  Here 
the  sun  represents  God  the  Father,  upon  whose  face 
Christ  can  gaze  undazzled  by  His  glory,  and  to 
whom  He  presents  the  children  of  men  who  claim  to 
have  been  born  of  Him ;  those  who  are  able  to 
stand  before  God  and  to  look  upon  the  light  of  His 
countenance  are  accepted,  while  the  others  are 
rejected. 

Again,  we  are  told  that  the  eagle  looks  from  the 


1 1 8  Animal    Symbolism 

uppermost  region  of  the  air  into  the  depths  of  the 
sea,  and  when  it  perceives  a  fish  swimming  about, 
plunges  into  the  water  and  seizing  the  fish  bears  it 
away  to  its  aerie.  Here  the  eagle  typifies  Christ, 
the  sea  the  world,  and  the  fish  the  elect  whom  He 
saves  and  takes  to  Himself. 

The  eagle  renewing  its  youth  by  plunging  into  a 
fountain  is  the  symbol  of  regeneration  by  baptism, 
and  is  therefore  sometimes  sculptured  on  fonts  and 
baptisteries.  In  ecclesiastical  architecture  the  eagle 
is  often  found  perching  alone,  as,  for  example,  in 
the  church  at  Alne ;  in  the  miniatures  of  the  manu- 
script bestiaries  belonging  to  the  Arsenal  Library 
and  to  the  Royal  Library  of  Brussels  it  is  seen  fly- 
ing with  its  newly-fledged  young  up  towards  the 
sun  ;  in  a  stained  window  in  the  cathedral  at  Lyons 
three  eaglets  are  looking  un- 
flinchingly at  the  blazing  sun, 
while  a  fourth  is  falling  to  the 
earth  ;  a  mosaic  in  the  baptistery 
of  Santa  Maria  di  Capua  repre- 
sents an  eagle  taking  a  fish  out 
of  the  water,  and  the  same  scene 
is  carved  on  a  Celtic  cross  at 
St.  Vigean's  in  Forfarshire,  and 
Eaglets  gazii^at  the  sun.  "^^  ^hc  jamb  of  a  Norman  door- 
[Lyons  Ca'jiedrai.)  way  at  Ribbcsford  in  Worcester- 
shire ;  it  is  also  found  on  a  metal  plate  in  the  British 
Museum,  and  among  the  illuminations  of  a  Celtic 
manuscript  of  the  Book  of  Armagh  at  Trinity 
College,  Dublin. 


In    Ecclesiastical    Architecture      119 

The  fable  of  the  rejuvenation  of  the  eagle  grew 
naturally  enough  out  of  the  fact  of  the  renewal  of 
its  plumage  after  moulting;  but  the  Apostolic 
Fathers  were  not  satisfied  with  this  simple  explana- 
tion of  the  words  of  the  Psalmist  (ciii.  S),  and  trans- 
formed an  ordinary  phenomenon  into  a  supernatural 
and  miraculous  event,  which  would  be  more  effec- 
tive for  exegetical  purposes. 

Aristotle  {Hist.  Animal.,  ex.  32)  relates  that  the 
upper  beak  of  very  old  eagles  grows  so  long  as  to 
prevent  them  from  eating  and  to  cause  them  to  die  of 
hunger.  In  the  Greek  version  of  the  Physiologus  of 
the  twelfth  century  the  author  adds  that  in  order  to 
remedy  this  evil  and  to  avert  this  danger  the  eagle 
breaks  off  the  superfluity  of  its  beak  against  a  stone, 
a  statement  which  is  adduced  by  homilists  and 
exegetists  to  prove  that  the  rock  of  salvation  is  the 
only  cure  for  the  growth  of  carnal-mindedness,  and 
the  sole  means  of  preventing  spiritual  starvation. 

In  Dante's  Divina  Coimnedia  (Pt.  I.  47-48) 
Beatrice  is  said  to  fix  her  eyes  on  the  sun  as  stead- 
fastly as  never  eagle  did — 

"  Aquila  si  non  gli  s'affisse  unquanco." 

It  was  a  test  of  Dante's  fitness  to  visit  the  celestial 
spheres  that  he  could  do  the  same — 

"  E  fissi  gli  occhi  al  sole  oltre  a  nostr'uso." 

Allusions  to  this  notion  occur  in  other  parts  of 
the  poem.  Ariosto  uses  the  same  imagery  in  one 
of  his  sonnets  :  "  Although  the  young  of  the  eagle 


120  Animal    Symbolism 

may  resemble  the  parent  in  its  claws,  head,  breast, 
and  plumage,  but  are  not  like  it  in  keenness  and 
strength  of  vision  to  endure  the  light,  the  eagle  will 
not  recognize  them  as  its  offspring.  So  the 
thoughts  and  desires  of  lovers  should  be  in  perfect 
conformity  ...  Be  not  then  different  from  me  in 
any  respect,"  he  concludes,  addressing  his  lady-love, 
"  for  you  must  accord  with  me  wholly  or  not  be  mine 
at  all  "— 

"  Non  siete  dunque  in  un  da  me  difforme, 
Perch^  mi  si  confaccia  il  piu  di  voi; 
Che  o  nulla,  o  vi  convien  tutta  esser  mia." 

A  German  poet,  Wachsmut  von  Muhlhausen, 
declares  that  he  will  renew  himself  like  the  eagle 
and  mount  up  joyously  into  the  aether,  "  if  thou,  O 
lady,  wilt  console  me  in  my  sadness  and  my  long- 
ing." Warriors,  too,  are  praised  or  censured  for 
possessing  or  not  possessing  the  firm  and  unflinch- 
ing eye  of  the  eagle,  when  in  the  heat  of  battle. 
Thomasin  von  Zirclare  says,  in  the  IVelscher  Gast, 
that  sovereigns  should  not  be  blinded  by  bribes, 
but  should  keep  their  sight  unclouded,  so  as  to  be 
able  to  look  clearly  and  fixedly  at  the  truth  in  the 
light  of  justice,  as  eagles  look  at  the  sun,  and  that 
they  should  renew  their  strength  for  righteousness 
and  ruling  in  equity  by  seeking  communion  with 
the  Most  High.  They  are  likewise  to  imitate  the 
eagle,  which  breaks  off  portions  of  its  beak,  when 
it  has  grown  so  long  and  crooked  as  to  be  an  im- 
pediment, an  admonition  which  might  be  taken 
as  a  warnine  against  the  circumlocutions  of  court 


In    Ecclesiastical    Architecture      1 2 1 

etiquette  and  the  trammels  of  red  tape.  In  the 
literature  of  a  later  day  one  of  the  most  splendidly 
rhetorical  passages  in  the  peroration  of  Milton's 
Areopagitica  is  borrowed  from  this  superstition  of 
the  eaglet  renewing  its  youth  and  purging  its  sight 
at  the  source  of  all  life  and  illumination. 

Strangely  enough  the  fish  is  not  especially  men- 
tioned by  the  Physiologiis,  although  in  sacred 
iconology  it  occurs  most  frequently  as  a  symbol 
of  Christ,  the  Greek  word  IX0T2  being  the  initial 
letters  of  the  Greek  phrase  signifying  Jesus  Christ 
God's  Son  Saviour,  \r\(Tov's  Xpiarbs  Qeov  Tios  Scor^jp. 
But  the  fish,  although  proverbial  among  the  Greeks 
for  its  stupidity,  was  carved  on  ancient  tombs, 
because  it  was  supposed  to  bear  the  soul  of  the 
deceased  across  the  sea  to  the  islands  of  the  blest. 
This  was  especially  the  case  with  the  dolphin,  the 
strongest  and  swiftest  of  fishes,  or,  as  Gregory  of 
Nyssa  calls  it,  the  most  royal  of  swimmers  :  6  8eA<^ts 
ecrrt  tu)V  vqnT&v  6  jSaa-iXiKioTaTOi.  It  is  possible  that 
the  dolphin  was  at  first,  for  the  same  reason,  sculp- 
tured on  Christian  tombs,  and  that  the  fish  was 
afterwards  substituted  for  it  on  account  of  the 
monogrammatic  meaning  of  the  word. 

The  early  Christians  were  accustomed  to  eat  a 
roasted  fish  in  commemoration  of  Christ's  Passion, 
and  a  survival  of  this  ceremony  is  the  use  of  fish  as 
an  article  of  food  on  Friday.  The  fish  was  also  sacred 
to  Venus  on  account  of  its  extraordinary  fecundity  ; 
for  the  same  reason  April,  the  opening  {aperilis)  or 
germinating  month,  was  consecrated  to  this  goddess, 


122  Animal    Symbolism 

whose  appropriate  day  {dies  Veneris,  venerdi, 
ve?idredi)  was  Friday,  corresponding  to  Friatac,  the 
day  of  Fria,  the  old  German  goddess  of  love. 
Patristic  theologians  were  fond  of  seeking  similitudes 
and  discovering  analogies  between  a  baked  fish 
and  the  suffering  Christ :  "  inter  piscem  assum  et 
Christum  passum."  Christian  sepulchres  are  often 
adorned  with  frescoes  or  sculptures,  in  which  the 
disciples  are  seated  at  a  table  furnished  with  a  loaf 
of  bread  (the  bread  of  life)  and  a  baked  fish.  This 
is  a  sacramental  or  eucharistic  meal. 

Of  sea-creatures  only  the  whale  and  the  fabulous 
remora  and  serra  or  winged  saw-fish  are  discussed 
in  the  Physiologus  and  in  the  bestiaries.  The 
whale  has  two  characteristics.  First,  when  he  is 
hungry  and  lusts  after  food,  he  opens  his  wide 
mouth  seaward  and  a  pleasant  odour  issues  from  his 
maw,  so  that  other  fishes  are  deceived  and  swim 
eagerly  towards  the  place  whence  the  sweet  odour 
comes.  In  heedless  shoals  they  enter  into  his  ex- 
tended jaws  ;  then  suddenly  the  grim  gums  close 
and  crush  their  prey.  Thus  the  devil  allures  men 
to  their  destruction  and  closes  upon  them  the 
barred  gates  of  hell,  from  which  they  can  no  more 
escape  than  the  fishes  sporting  in  the  ocean  can 
return  from  the  mouth  of  the  whale. 

Secondly,  the  mariners  often  mistake  the  whale, 
as  it  rests  on  the  surface  of  the  sea,  for  an  island, 
on  which  they  land  and  build  a  fire  to  cook  their 
dinner,  but  when  the  whale  begins  to  feel  the  heat 
through  its  thick  hide,  it  plunges  under  the  waves 


In    Ecclesiastical    Architecture      123 

and  engulphs  all  the  brave  seafarers  with  their 
high-prowed  ships.  In  the  old  English  bestiary 
this  disaster  is  described  in  the  succinct  and  graphic 
style  of  the  old  German  epics.  Here,  too,  the 
whale  is  the  devil,  the  sea  is  the  world,  and  the 
ship  represents  the  human  race. 

Brunetto  Latino  states  that  the  whale  often 
remains  stationary  on  the  surface  of  the  ocean, 
until  it  becomes  incrusted  with  earth.  From  the 
seeds  dropped  by  birds  in  this  soil  trees  and  shrubs 
spring  up  and  grow  to  large  forests,  so  that  sailors 
are  easily  deceived  and  mistake  the  animal  for  an 
island.  In  the  Book  of  Esdras  (vi.  6)  it  is  said  that 
Behemoth  and  Leviathan,  when  they  were  created, 
covered  each  a  seventh  part  of  the  earth.  The 
Talmud  adds  that  it  would  take  a  ship  three  days 
to  sail  from  the  head  to  the  tail  of  one  of  these 
monsters  ;  and  some  of  the  rabbis  speak  of  whales 
fifteen  stadia  in  length,  which  is  a  relatively  sober 
estimate.  An  Arab  writer  maintains  that  the  earth 
rests  on  the  back  of  a  whale,  which  performs  the 
all-sustaining  office  of  the  turtle  in  Indian  cosmog- 
ony, and  that  earthquakes  and  other  convulsions  of 
nature  are  caused  by  its  occasional  movements 
from  one  side  to  the  other.  The  devil  is  constantly 
at  work  trying  to  persuade  the  whale  to  dive  and 
thus  destroy  the  world.  Once  the  whale  was  just 
on  the-  point  of  yielding  to  these  Satanic  solicita- 
tions, but  was  prevented  by  the  merciful  interven- 
tion of  the  Almighty,  whereby  the  globe  and  its 
inhabitants  were  saved  from  such  a  catastrophe. 


124  Animal    Symbolism 

In  architecture  sometimes  only  the  ship  is 
represented,  and  the  whale  left  to  the  imagination 
of  the  beholder,  as  for  example  in  the  old  Norman 
church  at  Alne,  or  the  whale  is  given  and  the  ship 
omitted,  one  object  being  deemed  sufficient  to 
suggest  the  other.  In  the  miniatures  of  the  besti- 
aries the  whole  scene  is 
usually  depicted  in  such 
a  manner  as  to  illustrate 
both  characteristics :  the 
ship  lies  at  anchor,  the 
mariners  are  cooking 
Whale  and  ship.  their   dinner    under   the 

{Psalter  of  Isabella  of  Prance.)  ,        ,  _  , 

shadow  of  trees  on  the 
back  of  the  whale,  into  whose  extended  jaws  shoals 
of  little  fish  are  swimming.  A  parchment  codex  of 
the  Icelandic  version  of  the  Physiologtis,  dating  from 
the  thirteenth  century,  and  now  preserved  in  the 
Arna-Magnaean  collection  of  the  University  Library 
of  Copenhagen,  has  two  crude  drawings,  in  which 
these  characteristics  of  the  whale  are  portrayed. 

The  remora,  called  essinus  (ex^vrjts)  in  the 
bestiaries,  and  confounded  with  the  sea-urchin,  is 
a  fish  about  a  foot  long  and  a  native  of  the  Indian 
Ocean,  but  so  strong  that  it  can  keep  a  ship  from 
moving  by  fastening  itself  to  the  keel.  In  storms 
it  holds  the  vessel  steady,  and  prevents  it  from 
capsizing  when  tossed  by  the  tempest,  and  is 
therefore  a  type  of  the  Saviour,  the  sea  symbolizing 
the  world,  and  the  ship  man  buffeted  by  the  waves 
of  temptation,    which    threaten   to   engulph   him. 


In    Ecclesiastical    Architecture      125 

Pliny  (ix.  25  ;  xxxii.  i)  extols  the  immense  strength 
of  this  Httle  fish,  which,  he  says,  decided  the  battle 
of  Actium  and  the  fate  of  the  world  by  clinging  to 
Anthony's  galley  and  preventing  it  from  going  into 
action.  Similar  statements  are  made  by  ALl'mn 
(ii.  17)  and  Suetonius  (In  Caio,  xlix.),  from  whom 
the  authors  of  the  bestiaries  seem  to  have  derived 
their  information.  Thus  we  are  told  that,  when 
Caligula  was  returning  from  Astura  to  Antium,  a 
remora  sucked  itself  fast  to  the  imperial  five-decker, 
and  neutralized  the  efforts  of  four  hundred  oarsmen. 
Again,  as  Periander  was  about  to  send  a  galley 
from  Corinth  to  Corcyra  to  murder  three  hundred 
children,  a  great  number  of  these  fish  fastened 
themselves  to  the  vessel  and  kept  it  from  sailing, 
although  the  wind  was  favourable.  Out  of  grati- 
tude for  this  good  deed  the  echeneis  (ship-detainer) 
was  fostered  and  revered  in  the  temple  of  Venus 
at  Cnidus.  Oppianus,  in  his  didactic  poem  on 
fishing  ija  'AXteurtxa),  describes  the  astonishment 
and  anger  of  the  fishermen,  when  their  boats  are 
kept  stationary  by  the  force  of  these  sea-creatures. 
The  marvels  of  this  sort  recounted  by  ancient 
writers  are  repeated  and  magnified  in  German 
mediaeval  poems  of  heroic  adventure  and  achieve- 
ment, like  Graf  Rudolf,  Herzog  Ernst,  and  the 
Alexander  of  Pfafifcn  Lamprecht.  The  remora 
is  sometimes  called  serra,  but  the  latter  is  usually 
described  as  a  sea-dragon,  a  fire-breathing  monster 
with  wings  like  a  griffin,  the  tail  of  a  goose, 
and  the  feet  of  a  swan.     When  it  sees  a  ship  it 


126  Animal    Symbolism 

flies  after  it  for  thirty  or  forty  leagues,  but  finally 
grows  weary  and  turns  back  to  disport  in  the  sea. 
It  symbolizes  those  who  follow  for  a  season  in  the 
wake  of  the  Church,  but  through  lack  of  persever- 
ance never  reach  the  ark  of  safety. 

According  to  the  Physiologus,  the  phcenix  is  a 
native  of  India  and  Arabia.  When  it  is  five 
hundred  years  old,  it  flies  to  Lebanon,  and  fills  its 
wings  with  the  fragrant  gum  of  a  tree  growing 
there,  and  thence  hastens  to  Heliopolis  in  Egypt, 
where  it  burns  itself  upon  the  high  altar  in  the 
temple  of  the  sun.  When  the  priest  comes  on  the 
next  day  to  offer  sacrifice,  he  removes  the  ashes 
from  the  altar,  and  finds  therein  a  small  worm  of 
exceedingly  sweet  odour,  which  in  three  days 
develops  into  a  young  bird,  and  on  the  fourth  day 
attains  its  full  size  and  plumage,  and  greeting  the 
priest  with  reverence  returns  to  its  home.  But  if 
the  phoenix,  adds  the  exegetist,  is  able  to  destroy 
itself  and  to  come  to  life  again,  why  should  the 
Jews  murmur  at  the  words  of  our  Saviour,  when 
He  said  :  "  I  have  power  to  lay  down  My  life,  and 
I  have  power  to  take  it  again  "  .-* 

The  perfume  which  fills  the  two  wings  of  the 
phcenix  symbolizes  the  sweetness  of  divine  grace, 
as  diffused  through  the  books  of  the  Old  and  New 
Testaments.  Other  expositors  of  Pelagian  ten- 
dencies discern  in  these  perfumes  the  good  works 
which  the  righteous  man  accumulates,  and  by 
which  he  earns  eternal  life ;  and  as  the  phoenix 
kindles  the  fire  which  consumes  it  by  the  fanning 


In    Ecclesiastical   Architecture      127 

motion  of  its  own  wings,  so  the  saint,  mounting  up 
on  the  wings  of  heavenly  meditation,  has  his  soul  en- 
kindled and  renewed  by  the  flames  of  the  Holy  Spirit. 

Cremation  as  practised  by  the  Romans  would 
naturally  serve  to  make  the  phoenix  still  more 
suitable  and  striking  as  a  symbol  of  the  Resurrection 
and  of  immortality ;  in  this  sense  the  bird  in  the 
act  of  burning  itself  was  often  sculptured  on 
cinerary  urns  with  the  inscription  D[ts]  M\anibus\ 
and  is  also  mentioned  in  Jewish  writings  as  an 
emblem  of  the  renewal  of  life  and  vigour.  The 
Greek  word  for  date-palm  and  phoenix  is  the  same 
((fiolvi^'),  and  the  tree  was  fabled  to  die  and  then 
to  spring  up  anew  like  the  fowl.  The  passage  in 
Psalm  xcii.  12,  "The  righteous  shall  flourish  like 
the  palm-tree  "  (ojs  ^otytf ),  may  mean  in  the  Septu- 
agint  like  the  phoenix,  and  was  so  understood  by 
Tertullian  and  the  PJiysiologus. 

The  phoenix,  like  so  many  other  symbols,  passed 
from  the  old  to  the  new  religion,  and  was  transferred 
from  the  pagan  urn  to  the  Christian  sarcophagus. 
Sometimes  a  date-palm  is  used  to  express  the 
same  idea;  and  very  frequently  the  tree  and  the 
bird  appear  together.  Mosaics  in  many  early 
Christian  churches,  as  for  example  in  SS.  Cosma 
e  Damiano,  St.  Prassede,  and  St.  Cecilia  in  Traste- 
vere,  represent  the  phoenix  with  a  nimbus.  Among 
the  mosaics  adorning  the  tribune  of  the  Lateran 
is  a  large  cross,  and  beneath  it  the  New  Jerusalem, 
out  of  the  midst  of  which  rises  a  stately  palm-tree 
with  a  phoenix  perched  on  its  top. 


128  Animal    Symbolism 

A   similar  type   of   the   atoning   Christ   is   the 

pelican,  tearing   open    its  breast   and    feeding   its 

young  with  its  own  blood.     When  they  are  partly 

grown  they  smite  their  parents  in 

the    face  and  the  old  birds    kill 

them ;     but    no    sooner   do   the 

parents  perceive  what  they  have 

done  than  they   repent  of  their 

rashness  and  have  compassion  on 

their  dead  offspring,  and,  sprink- 

'?7:v  ^^"§  them  with  their  own  blood, 

"TT        ~    '.     7     restore    them    to    life.     In    like 

Pelican.     {Bestiary.) 

manner,  Christ  was  beaten  and 
buffeted  by  the  children  of  men,  and  yet  shed 
His  blood  in  order  to  give  them  eternal  life.  St. 
Augustine  refers  to  this  fable  in  his  commentary 
on  Psalm  cii.  5  :  "I  am  like  a  pelican  in  the 
wilderness,"  and  says :  "  The  males  of  these  birds 
are  wont  to  kill  their  young  by  blows  of  their 
beaks,  and  then  to  bewail  their  death  for  the  space 
of  three  days.  At  length,  however,  the  female 
inflicts  a  severe  wound  on  herself,  and  letting  her 
blood  flow  over  the  dead  ones,  brings  them  to 
life  again."  This  supposed  fact  of  natural  history 
is  often  adduced  by  patristic  theologians  in  illus- 
tration and  confirmation  of  the  doctrine  of  the 
Atonement.  In  some  old  books  of  emblems,  as 
well  as  in  architecture,  the  same  conduct  is  ascribed 
to  the  eagle  and  the  vulture.  The  Egyptian  Hor- 
apollo  says  :  "  The  vulture  is  the  type  of  the  merci- 
ful man,  because,  if  food  cannot  be  obtained  for  its 


In    Ecclesiastical    Architecture     129 

young,  it  opens  its  own  thigh  and  permits  them  to 
partake  of  its  blood,  so  that  they  may  not  perish 
from  want."  The  Hebrew  word  for  vulture,  rdchdvi, 
meaning  a  compassionate  creature,  was  doubtless 
a  recognition  of  this  supposititious  virtue.  On  a 
gold  coin  of  the  time  of  Hadrian  the  phcenix 
appears  with  the  inscription  scec,  aur.,  as  indi- 
cating the  restoration  of  the  golden  age  under 
his  reign  ;  it  occurs  later  on  the  coins  and  medals 
issued  by  Constantine  and  other  Christian  emperors. 

On  the  principal  door  of  St. 
Laurence  in  Nuremberg  a  burn- 
ing phcenix  is  sculptured  under 
the  lintel  on  the  right,  and  a 
pelican,  in  the  act  of  piercing  its 
breast  to  feed  its  young,  under 
the  lintel  on  the  left.  There 
are  similar  representations  on 
the  doorway,  as  well  as  on  the  ^•^*"'"  ^^'''''"'''■' 
capitals,  of  some  columns  in  the  Ernestine  Chapel 
of  Magdeburg  Cathedral,  and  probably  date  from 
the  thirteenth  century.  Phoenix  and  pelican  are 
carved  on  the  stalls  of  Bale  Minster,  belonging  to 
the  latter  half  of  the  fifteenth  century.  In  the 
northern  transept  of  the  cathedral  at  Lund  in 
Sweden,  over  the  window,  is  a  pelican  rending 
its  breast  with  its  beak,  and  on  the  western  wall 
a  phcenix  burning  in  its  nest ;  on  the  eastern 
wall  is  a  crucifix,  and  over  an  arch  to  the  south 
a  lion  tearing  a  man,  showing  how  the  devil 
deals  with  heretics.     There  are  in  the  same  church 


130  Animal    Symbolism 

some  curious  carvings  of  animals  on  the  stalls  of 
the  choir,  symbolizing  the  conflict  between  Chris- 
tianity and  paganism.  The  phoenix  and  pelican 
are  frequently  associated  with  other  creatures  hav- 
ing a  like  spiritual  significance.  Thus  in  a  picture 
with  a  Latin  inscription  in  the  church  of  St. 
Laurence,  and  one  with  a  German  inscription  in 
St.  Sebald's  church  in  Nuremberg,  the  phoenix 
and  the  unicorn  are  on  one  side,  and  the  pelican 
and  the  lion  on  the  other  side,  emphasizing  and 
enforcing  by  an  accumulation  of  types  the  doc- 
trines of  the  incarnation,  death,  and  resurrection  of 
Christ,  and  the  redemption  of  mankind  through 
His  sufferings.  A  painting  of  a  similar  character, 
belonging  to  the  Cologne  school  of  the  fourteenth 
century,  was  formerly  in  the  possession  of  Dr.  Bessel, 
president  of  the  provincial  court  of  Saarbriicken. 

In  the  Florentine  Galleria  degli  Uffizi,  in  the 
cabinet  of  gems,  is  a  shrine  of  mountain  crystal 
containing  a  golden  casket  adorned  with  a  phoenix 
in  enamel,  and  bearing  the  inscription  "  sic  moriendo 
vita  perennis."  It  is  a  masterpiece  of  one  of  the 
most  celebrated  lithoglyphic  artists  of  the  sixteenth 
century,  Valerio  Belli  of  Vicenza,  better  known  as 
Valerio  Vicentino,  who  made  it  for  Pope  Clement 
VII.  (1523-34)  as  a  pyx  or  receptacle  for  the  host. 
The  outer  case  is  of  rock  crystal,  and  embellished 
with  scenes  from  the  life  and  Passion  of  Christ. 

Both  the  phoenix  and  the  pelican  are  used  by 
sacred  and  secular  poets  of  the  middle  ages  and 
of  modern  times  to  illustrate  the  power  of  heavenly 


In    Ecclesiastical    Architecture     1 3 1 

and  earthly  love.  Dante  makes  an  original  appli- 
cation of  the  fable  in  the  Inferno  (xxiv.  97-108), 
where  he  describes  the  damned  in  the  seventh 
circle  of  hell  as  being  burned  and  born  again  from 
their  ashes  to  suffer  an  endless  repetition  of  their 
torments,  as  the  phoenix  dies  and  renews  its  life 
every  five  hundred  years.  Elsewhere  (Pt.  xxv., 
112)  he  speaks  of  Christ  as  "our  pelican."  The 
Sicilian  lyrical  poet,  Inghilfredi,  who  flourished  in 
the  thirteenth  century,  confesses  in  one  of  his 
canzoni  that  he  is  at  once  consumed  and  rejuven- 
ated by  the  fires  of  love,  like  the  phcenix ;  and 
the  Provencal  poet,  Aimeric  de  Pregulhan,  is  af- 
fected by  the  tender  passion  in  the  same  way,  and 
expresses  himself  in  identical  language.  Giovanni 
dair  Orto,  in  La  Notte  Gioconda,  praises  the  breath 
of  the  loved  one  as  sweeter  than  the  spices  brought 
by  the  phcenix  from  India  and  Sheba  for  its  funeral 
pyre.  In  another  passage  he  entreats  the  fair  dame, 
who  has  slain  him  in  her  anger,  to  take  pity  on 
him  and,  like  the  pelican,  restore  him  to  life  by 
the  manifestations  of  her  affection.  Reinmar  von 
Zweter  expresses  the  hope  that  the  good  may  be 
self-renewed  like  the  phoenix,  but  that  the  bad  may 
remain  without  issue  like  the  same  mythical  fowl. 
Similes  of  this  sort,  in  which  diverse  characteristics 
of  a  single  animal  serve  to  illustrate  opposite  quali- 
ties, were  deemed  especially  clever. 

The  otter  is  described  as  a  small  animal  re- 
sembling a  dog,  and  an  enemy  of  the  crocodile. 
"When  the  latter  sleeps  it   keeps  its  mouth  open ; 


132  Animal    Symbolism 

but  the  otter  wallows  in  the  mire  until  it  becomes 
thickly  coated  with  mud,  which  dries  and  hardens 
and  forms  a  sort  of  armour,  thus  enabling  it  to 
run  securely  into  the  jaws  and  down  the  throat  of 
the  sleeping  crocodile,  and  to  kill  it  by  devouring 
its  bowels.  So  our  Saviour,  after  having  put  on 
flesh,  descended  into  hell  and  carried  away  the 
souls  dwelling  therein ;  and  as  the  otter  comes 
forth  unharmed  from  the  belly  of  the  crocodile,  so 
our  Lord  rose  from  the  grave  on  the  third  day, 
alive  and  uninjured.  The  ichneumon  is  fabled  to 
slay  the  dragon  in  the  same  manner,  and  both 
animals  are  symbols  of  the  triumph  of  the  incarnate 
God  over  Satan. 

Strabo  states  that  the  ichneumon  attacks  poison- 
ous serpents,  but  never  single-handed.  It  was 
therefore  used  in  Egyptian  hieroglyphics  as  an 
ideograph,  signifying  that  union  is  strength.  ^Elian, 
Plutarch,  and  Pliny  relate  its  feats  of  heroic  auda- 
city in  entering  the  maw  and  eating  the  entrails 
of  the  crocodile  ;  it  was  said  to  hunt  up  and  destroy 
the  eggs  of  this  reptile,  and  was  therefore  cherished 
and  revered  as  a  public  benefactor ;  hence,  too,  its 
name,  the  "tracker."  As  a  matter  of  fact,  how- 
ever, it  not  only  devours  insects  and  small  quad- 
rupeds, but  also  destroys  doves,  domestic  fowls  and 
their  eggs,  and  all  kinds  of  fruits,  and  does  immense 
harm  to  the  husbandman.  The  fellahin  have  no 
greater  foe.  The  Greek  word  for  otter,  evvdpis, 
signifies  also  water-snake,  and  this  ambiguity  has 
caused  it  to  be  confounded  with  the  hydra,  whose 


In    Ecclesiastical    Architecture     133 

many  heads,  growing  again  as  soon  as  they  are 
lopped  off,  symbolize  the  fearfully  prolific  and 
ineradicable  nature  of  original  sin.  For  this  reason 
the  otter  in  the  Waldensian  PJiysiologus  becomes 
the  type  of  the  devil,  who  puts  on  cunning  dis- 
guises in  order  to  insinuate  himself  into  the  heart 
of  man  and  to  compass  his  destruction.  Owing  to 
this  confusion  of  terms  the  otter  most  frequently 
appears  in  the  delineations  of  the  artist  as  a  ser- 
pent eating  its  way  through  the  bowels  of  a 
nondescript  monster  supposed  to  be  a  crocodile. 


Otter  and  Water-snake.     [Psaltcy  of  Isabella  of  France.) 

It  is  the  nature  of  the  panther  to  live  in  friend- 
ship with  all  animals  except  the  dragon.  It  has 
a  beautiful  skin  of  many  colours,  like  Joseph's  coat, 
and  is  an  exceedingly  beautiful  beast,  tame  and 
gentle.  When  it  has  eaten  a  little  it  is  satisfied, 
and  goes  to  sleep  in  its  lair,  and  after  three  days 
it  awakes  and  roars  with  a  loud  voice,  and  out  of 
its  mouth  proceeds  a  sweet  smell.  Then  all  the 
beasts  of  the  forest  far  and  near  follow  after  it, 
attracted  by  this  odour,  which,  according  to  an  old 
English  bestiary,  is 

"  A  steam  more  grateful, 
Sweeter  and  stronger 
Than  every  perfume, 
Than  blooms  of  plants 


134  Animal    Symbolism 

And  forest-leaves, 
Nobler  than  all 
Earth's  ornaments." 

This  rare  scent  is  offensive  only  to  the  dragon, 
which  hastens  to  flee  as  soon  as  it  gets  a  sniff  of 
it.  In  Hke  manner  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ  arose 
out  of  the  sleep  of  death,  and  drew  all  nations  unto 
Him  through  His  "sweet  savour."  As  the  Psalmist 
says  :  "  The  king's  daughter  is  all  glorious  within  ; 
her  clothing  is  of  wrought  gold;"  so  the  adorn- 
ment of  our  Saviour  is  variegated  through  chastity, 
purity,  meekness,  kindness,  peace,  temperance,  and 
every  excellence.  Again,  in  the  words  of  the  wise 
man :  "  Because  of  the  savour  of  thy  good  oint- 
ments, thy  name  is  as  an  ointment  poured  forth, 
therefore  do  the  virgins  love  thee."  "  Draw  me,  we 
will  run  after  thee."  "The  smell  of  thine  ointments  " 
he  declares  to  be  *'  better  than  all  spices."  Also  the 
passage  in  Hosea  (v.  14),  which  reads  in  the  Sep- 
tuagint,  "  I  will  be  unto  Ephraim  as  a  panther  and 
as  a  lion  to  the  house  of  Judah,"  is  cited  as  perti- 
nent. Finally  Christ,  like  the  panther,  discomfits 
"  the  dragon,  that  old  serpent,  which  is  the  devil." 

A  German  poet  of  the  twelfth  century  attributes 
the  perfume  of  the  panther's  breath  to  its  diet,  con- 
sisting of  aromatic  roots  and  herbs  that  impart  to 
it  a  balmy  quality,  which  is  not  only  grateful  to 
the  senses,  but  also  healing  to  the  beasts  that 
inhale  it.  According  to  this  view,  the  creature  is 
a  sort  of  peripatetic  sanitarium,  and  is  for  this 
reason  attended  by  a  large  concourse  of  animals 


In    Ecclesiastical    Architecture     135 

which  seek  to  be  cured  of  their  ailments.  The 
attraction  is  not  so  much  aesthetic  and  sentimental 
as  medical  or  veterinary.  The  hygienic  influence 
of  the  panther  is  prophylactic  as  well  as  remedial, 
so  that,  if  one  were  disposed  to  carry  the  quib- 
bling spirit  of  patristic  theologians  into  the  pro- 
vince of  paranomasia,  the  beast  might  be  called 
"  an  ounce  of  prevention."  The  breath  of  the 
panther  is  often  likened  to  the  virtue  which  went 
out  of  Christ  and  healed  the  woman  who  touched 
the  hem  of  His  garment. 

In  ecclesiastical  architecture  the  panther  is  some- 
times represented  as  facing  the  dragon,  as,  for 
example,  on  the  doorway  of  the  church  at  Alne,  in 
Yorkshire.  More  frequently,  however,  the  dragon 
is  fleeing  from  the  pan- 
ther, which  is  followed  by 
numerous  beasts,  usually 
divided  into  two  groups, 
those  nearest  the  panther 
typifying  the  Jews,    and 

those  farther  off"  the   Gen-       P-"^^- -"d  dragon.     [Bestiary. 

tiles  ;  as  the  Apostle  Paul  says  of  Christ,  He  "  came 
and  preached  peace  to  you  which  were  afar  off, 
and  to  them  that  were  nigh." 

In  Hugo  von  Langenstein's  poem,  TJie  Mar- 
tyrdom of  St.  Martina,  written  in  1293,  a  very 
elaborate  allegory  of  the  panther  is  introduced  to 
illustrate  the  sufferings  and  virtues  of  his  holy 
heroine.  He  characterizes  Christ  as  the  "  heavenly 
panther,"  and  the  variegated  skin  of  the  animal  is 


136  Animal    Symbolism 

minutely  interpreted  in  a  mystical  sense  as  sym- 
bolizing the  wisdom,  love,  humility,  mercy,  justice, 
and  other  attributes  of  the  Redeemer,  about  twenty 
of  which  are  specially  mentioned.  Lauchert  gives 
numerous  examples  of  rhetorical  and  metaphorical 
allusions  to  this  fable  in  profane  literature.  Thus 
an  anonymous  troubadour  of  the  thirteenth  century 
compares  the  power  of  Amor  to  that  of  the  panther, 
whose  sweet  breath  and  beautiful  colour  attract  all 
beasts  with  so  irresistible  force  that  they  would 
rather  die  than  not  to  follow  in  its  footsteps.  The 
Sicilian  lyric  poet  Inghilfredi,  already  mentioned, 
expresses  the  fascination  he  feels  by  the  same 
simile.  Guido  delle  Colonne  and  Messer  Polo 
celebrate  the  modesty  of  their  mistresses,  who  are 
as  unconscious  of  their  sweetness  and  beauty  as 
the  panther.  The  same  imagery  is  employed  by 
poet  laureates  and  royal  panegyrists.  Frauenlob 
likens  the  persuasive  voice  of  Count  Ludwig  of 
Oettingen  to  the  sweet  breath  of  the  panther ;  and 
another  Meissen  poet  uses  this  comparison  with 
reference  to  Albrecht  II.  of  Brandenburg,  the 
founder  of  Berlin.  Master  Rumeland  of  Saxony, 
a  wandering  minstrel,  who  sang  the  praises  of 
many  princes,  extols  Duke  Ludwig  of  Bavaria  as 
an  eagle,  a  leopard,  a  panther,  and  indeed  a  whole 
menagerie  of  typical  beasts  and  birds.  Konrad 
von  Wlirzburg  turns  the  point  of  the  trope  against 
low  -  minded  sovereigns,  and  says  that  a  mean 
prince  shuns  the  society  of  the  pure  and  noble 
as  the  dragon  flees  from  the  panther. 


In    Ecclesiastical    Architecture     137 

In  the  Lay  of  the  Nibelimgen,  Siegfrid  bears  a 
large  quiver  covered  with  panther's  skin,  which 
emits  a  pleasant  odour,  and  emblematizes  the  irre- 
sistible charm  of  the  youthful  hero  ;  and  in  Pfaffen 
Lamprecht's  Alexander,  a  curious  work  of  the 
goldsmith's  art  belonging  to  Queen  Candace  is 
described,  namely,  an  automatic  panther,  which 
not  only  howled,  but  also  exhaled  sweet  perfumes. 
The  account  is  too  realistic  to  be  a  mere  product 
of  the  fancy,  and  is  probably  the  description  of 
something  which  the  poet  had  seen,  and,  if  so, 
proves  to  what  perfection  this  kind  of  artistic 
handicraft  was  carried  in  the  twelfth  century.  The 
characteristics  of  the  panther  are  likewise  set  forth 
in  Reinaert  de  Vos  (Martin's  ed.,  pp.  54-55  ^Q1^- 

The  later  bestiaries  derive  the  word  panther  from 
Tiav,  signifying  all,  and  implying  that  it  was  the 
whole  world  which  Christ  came  to  redeem.  This 
idea  of  the  universality  of  the  Atonement  is  ex- 
pressed by  the  Norman  clerk  in  Le  Bestiaire  Divin 
as  follows — 

"  Pantiere  dit,  qui  bien  entent, 
Tant  comme  chose  qui  tot  prent, 
Et  senefie,  sanz  error, 
Jhesu  Crist  nostra  Sauveor, 
Qui  par  sa  grant  humilitc 
Vesti  nostre  charnalit(^, 
Et  trest  toz  les  siecles  a  sei." 

In  this  connection  it  may  be  mentioned  as  a  sin- 
gular coincidence  that,  according  to  an  ancient 
tradition,  the  real  father  of  Jesus  was  a  Roman 
soldier  named  Panthera. 


138  Animal    Symbolism 

The  three  beasts  that  obstructed  Dante's  path  as 
he  found  himself  at  the  midway  of  life  erring  in  a 
dark  and  savage  wood,  were  a  panther,  a  lion,  and 
a  wolf,  supposed  to  be  the  types  of  luxury,  pride, 
and  greed ;  but  they  have  nothing  in  common  with 
the  animal  symbolism  of  the  Physiologus. 

The  testicles  of  the  beaver,  we  are  told,  contain 
a  precious  substance,  which  heals  divers  diseases, 
and  especially  convulsions,  once  regarded  as  a  sure 
sign  of  diabolical  possession.     When  the  animal  is 
pursued  by  the  hunters,  and 
is  in  danger  of  being  caught, 
it  bites  off  its  private  parts 
and  thus  saves  its  life;  for 
it    is    a    sagacious  creature, 
and  knows  why  it  is  hunted. 
t^-^^_.--   Afterwards,      when      it      is 
chased,  it  throws  itself  on  its 
estiary.  back,  SO  that  the  hunter  ma}' 

see  that  what  he  seeks  is  no  longer  there,  and  go  his 
way.  But  thou,  O  man,  separate  from  thyself  the 
works  of  the  flesh,  which  are  adulteries,  fornications, 
revellings,  and  envyings,  and  throw  them  to  the 
devil,  who  hunteth  after  thy  soul,  saying  :  "  I  will 
pursue  my  enemies  and  overtake  them."  Then 
canst  thou  exclaim  with  the  Psalmist:  "Our  soul 
is  escaped  as  a  bird  out  of  the  snare  of  the  fowler  ; 
the  snare  is  broken,  and  we  are  escaped." 

It  is  well  known  that  the  beaver  secretes  in  two 
inguinal  sacs  a  caseous  substance  with  a  pungent 
perfume  called  castoreum.      The  fable  related  by 


In    Ecclesiastical    Architecture     139 

the  Physiologies  is  of  very  ancient  date,  and  is 
recorded  by  the  Egyptian  priest  Horapollo,  as  well 
as  by  Apuleius,  Pliny,  /Elian,  and  Juvenal,  and  was 
generally  accepted  as  true  by  mediaeval  writers. 
Albertus  Magnus,  as  we  have  seen,  rejects  it  as 
"  false,  although  frequently  reported  in  parts  of  our 
land."  In  art,  the  beaver  is  commonly  represented 
in  the  act  of  self-mutilation,  which  suffices  to  tell 
the  whole  story,  the  hunters  being  left  to  the  imagin- 
ation. Konrad  von  Wiirzburg  chooses  an  odd  and 
rather  far-fetched  comparison,  when  he  commends 
to  princes  the  prudence  of  the  beaver,  which  saves 
its  life  by  voluntarily  depriving  itself  of  what  is 
dearest  to  it ;  he  thereby  intends  to  inculcate  the 
virtue  of  liberality  freely  exercised  for  the  public 
weal,  and  without  stint  of  self-sacrifice. 

Still  more  marvellous  is  the  account  which  the 
Physiologus  gives  of  the  hyena.  This  filthy  beast, 
he  says,  haunts  cemeteries  and  feeds  on  corpses. 
It  has  also  the  power  of  changing  its  sex,  the  same 
individual  being  sometimes  male  and  sometimes 
female.  This  characteristic  is  used  to  illustrate 
the  vice  censured  by  Paul  in  his  epistle  to  the 
Romans  (i.  2,  27).  In  the  Latin  version  of  the 
Physiologus  the  hyena  is  made  a  type  of  the  Jews, 
who  at  first  had  a  knowledge  of  the  true  and  living 
God,  but  now  subsist  on  dry  bones  and  dead  cere- 
monials. They  were  the  prophets  of  the  Messiah 
and  foretold  His  advent,  but  rejected  Him  when  He 
appeared.  As  Jeremiah  says  (xii.  9,  Septuagint) : 
"  The  lair  of  the  hyena  has  become  my  heritage." 


140  Animal    Symbolism 

In  the  bestiaries  the  words  of  James  (i.  8,  curiously- 
enough  attributed  to  Solomon),  "  A  double-minded 
man  is  unstable  in  all  his  ways,"  and  the  saying  of 
Christ,  "  No  man  can  serve  two  masters,"  are  cited 
as  texts,  the  truth  of  which  the  habits  of  the  hyena 
exemplify  and  establish. 

In  the  apocryphal  epistle  of  Barnabas  (ix.  8)  it 
is  said  :  "  Neither  shalt  thou  eat  of  the  hyena  ;  that 
is,  again,  be  not  an  adulterer,  nor  a  corrupter  of 
others  ;  neither  be  like  to  such.  And  wherefore  so  .? 
Because  that  creature  every  year  changes  its  kind, 
and  is  sometimes  male  and  sometimes  female." 
Philippe  de  Thaun,  in  his  Book  of  Creatures,  speaks 
of  the  hyena  as  "  une  beste  mauvaise  et  orde,"  a 
foul  and  ugly  beast,  stinking  and  very  fierce,  digging 
into  graves  and  devouring  carrion.  He  begins  his 
account  of  this  animal  with  the  following  general 
observations — 

"  Moult  est  a  dire  et  a  retraire 
Es  essamples  del  Bestiaire, 
Qui  sunt  de  bestes  et  de  oiseaus, 
Moult  profitables,  boens  et  beaus. 
Et  le  livre  si  nos  enseigne 
En  quel  guise  le  mal  remaigne, 
Et  la  veie  que  deit  tenir 
Cil  qui  a  Deu  veut  revertir." 

Sir  Walter  Raleigh,  in  his  History  of  the  World 
(London,  161 4),  excludes  hybrids  from  Noah's  ark, 
and  mentions  hyenas  as  belonging  to  this  class. 
He  asserts  that  only  pure  species  were  saved,  and 
not  mongrels.  After  the  Deluge,  hyenas,  he  says, 
were  reproduced  by  a  cross  between  the  dog  and 


In    Ecclesiastical    Architecture     141 


the  cat.  This  notion  is  about  as  correct  as  his 
belief  that  before  the  Deluge  there  were  mountains 
thirty  miles  high,  which  were  reduced  to  their 
present  elevation  by  the  abrasive  action  of  the 
water. 

The  eyes  of  the  hyena  are  fabled  to  turn  into 
jewels  when  it  dies ;  and  the  Physiologus  asserts 
that  it  has  in  its  eye  a  stone  which,  if  it  be  placed 
under  the  tongue,  enables  a  man  to  foretell  future 
events.  In  the  East  the  hyena  is  universally 
regarded  as  an  incarnation  of  the  sorcerer,  and 
Arabian  folk-lore  is  especially  full  of  fearful  stories 
of  the  doings  of  wizards  and  witches,  who  assume 
this  form  for  diabolical  purposes.  The  fact  that 
the  hyena  is  seldom  seen  by  day,  but  begins  to 
make  night  hideous  with  its  cries  as  soon  as  it 
grows  dark,  tends  to  confirm  the  popular  super- 
stition that  the  creature  is  a  man  who  has  trans- 
formed himself  into  this  filthy  beast  with  the  going 
down  of  the  sun.  For  this  reason  a  dread  of  the 
hyena  as  uncanny  and  capable  of  inflicting  injury 
by  malign  and  magical  influences,  prevails  among 
all  African  and  Asiatic  peoples,  where  this  animal 
has  its  habitat.  Dogs,  it  is  believed,  lose  their 
bark  and  scent  if  the  shadow  of  a  hyena  falls  upon 
them ;  he  who  tastes  of  its  brain  goes  mad,  and 
the  hunter  who  kills  it  is  sure  to  be  pursued  by  its 
vindictive  ghost. 

In  architecture  the  hyena  is  usually  represented 
as  preying  upon  the  prostrate  form  of  a  man, 
probably   a   corpse,   which   it   has   dug   out   of  a 


142  Animal    Symbolism 


grave ;  it  symbolizes  vice  battening  on  corruption. 
Sometimes,  as  among  the  sculp- 
tures on  the  church  at  Alne,  we 
find  the  figure  of  the  hyena 
standing  alone,  an  embodiment 
of  the  evil  principle  in  its  most 
offensive  form. 

The   salamander   is  a  large 

Hyena.     {Bestiary.)  jj^^^^^  ^j^j^j^    ^^^^    ^^^^    ^^^^  ^^^ 

fire,  but  puts  it  out  by  passing  into  it,  and  typifies 
the  righteous  man,  who  is  not  consumed  by  the 
fires  of  luxury  and  lust,  but  extinguishes  them. 
As  the  Apostle  Paul  states :  "  Through  faith  they 
stopped  the  mouths  of  lions  and  quenched  the 
violence  of  fire";  and  the  prophet  Isaiah  says  of 
the  just  man  :  "  When  thou  walkest  through  fire 
thou  shalt  not  be  burned."  This  was  the  case 
with  the  three  Hebrew  youths  Ananias,  Azarias, 
and  Misael  (Shadrach,  Meshach,  and  Abednego), 
who  were  cast  into  the  burning  fiery  furnace,  and 
came  forth  unharmed,  with  no  smell  of  fire  on  their 
garments. 

The  incombustible  mineral  substance  known  as 
amianthus  was  once  supposed  to  be  salamander's 
skin.  In  Les  Proprietez  des  Bestes  it  is  related 
that  the  Emperor  of  India  had  a  full  suit  of 
clothes  made  of  a  thousand  skins  of  salamanders, 
which  he  wore  as  a  coat  of  mail  in  battle;  and 
Vincent  de  Beauvais  in  his  Speculum  Naturale 
asserts  that  Pope  Alexander  III.  had  a  tunic 
made  of  the  same  stuff,  which   was  palish  white 


In    Ecclesiastical    Architecture     143 

in  colour,  and,  when  dirty,  was  cleansed  by  being 
thrown  into  the  fire  instead  of  being  put  into  the 
wash-tub.  There  is  no  reason  for  regarding  these 
stories  as  mere  inventions,  except  in  respect  to  the 
nature  and  origin  of  the  material,  since  this  method 
of  cleaning  asbestos  garments  by  heating  them 
red-hot  is  still  practised  by  some  tribes  of  Western 
China. 

This  fabulous  and  formidable  lizard  has  been 
reduced  by  more  careful  observation  to  a  small 
frog-like  reptile  with  rows  of  tubercles  on  its  sides, 
which  secrete  a  milky  poisonous  fluid  in  sufficient 
quantities  to  extinguish  a  live  coal  and  slightly  to 
retard  the  action  of  fire. 

Italian  erotic  poets  are  fond  of  referring  to  the 
salamander  as  typical  of  the  lover,  who  either  rejoices 
in  the  amorous  fire  ("  il  fuoco  amoroso ")  as  his 
native  element,  or  regrets  that  he  does  not  possess 
the  nature  of  this  reptile  in  order  that  he  may  not 
be  utterly  consumed  by  his  passion. 

"As  the  partridge  gathereth  young  which  she 
hath  not  brought  forth,  so  he  that  getteth  riches 
and  not  by  right,  shall  leave  them  in  the  midst  of 
his  days,  and  at  his  end  shall  be  as  a  fool."  This 
passage  from  Jeremiah  is  quoted  by  the  Physio- 
logus  as  referring  to  the  thievish  propensity  of  the 
partridge  in  stealing  the  eggs  of  other  birds  and 
hatching  them,  but  when  the  young  are  grown, 
they  recognize  their  real  parents  and  fly  to  them, 
leaving  their  self-constituted  foster-mother  stand- 
ing alone  like  a  fool.     This  bird  is  the  type  of  the 


144  Animal    Symbolism 

devil,  who  seeks  to  gather  to  himself  the  children 
of  men,  but  when  they  grow  in  wisdom  and  are 
come  to  a  knowledge  of  the  truth,  they  forsake 
the  devil  and  his  works,  and  flee  to  their  natural 
mother,  the  Church. 

The  habit  here  ascribed  to  the  partridge  does 
not  seem  to  have  been  known  to  any  Greek  or 
Roman  naturalist;  but  in  the  Institutes  of  Manu 
it  is  said  that  persons  who  steal  raiment  are 
destined  to  be  reborn  as  grey  or  speckled  par- 
tridges, according  to  the  colour  of  the  vestments 
stolen.  The  penalty  thus  inflicted  by  the  strictly 
retributive  laws  of  metempsychosis  would  imply 
certain  pilfering  propensities  on  the  part  of  the  bird, 
and  may  be  based  upon  a  supposed  tendency  to  steal 
eggs  originating  in  a  desire  for  numerous  offspring. 
The  partridge  is  monogamous  in  its  domestic 
habits,  and  has  the  feeling  of  conjugal  attachment 
and  parental  affection  very  strongly  developed. 
It  possesses  a  remarkably  benevolent  disposition, 
and  is  distinguished  in  a  high 
degree  for  the  sentiment  corre- 
sponding to  philanthropy  or 
altruism  in  man,  adopting  the 
orphans  of  other  partridges  and 
treating  them  with  the  same  ten- 
derness as  its  own  young;  but 
there  is  no  evidence  that  its  philo- 

Partridge  and  her  •,  •  -r     l. 

Fosterlings.  progcnitivcness     ever     maniiests 

{.Bestiary.)  \ts€i{  \\\    thicvcrv    of   any    sort. 

That  such  an  exceptionally  noble  and  virtuous  fowl 


In    Ecclesiastical    Architecture     145 


should  be  condemned  to  figure  the  devil  in  Christian 
typology  is  only  an  additional  proof  of  the  per- 
versions of  hermeneutical  theology. 

Artistic  delineations  of  this  supposed  charac- 
teristic in  bestiaries,  missals,  and  other  books  of 
devotion,  as  well  as  in  sacred  edifices,  usually 
show  the  partridge  sitting  alone  in  her  nest,  while 
her  fosterlings  are  hastening  to  join  their  real 
mother  in  the  air  above. 

The  charadrius  (a  species  of  plover)  is  a  white 
bird  without  a  dark  spot  on  it ;  and  when  a  person 
is  sick  it  is  brought  to  his  bedside  in  order  to 
determine  whether  he  will  recover  or  not.  If  the 
sickness  is  unto  death,  then  the  bird  turns  away 
from  him  ;  but  if  he  is  predestined  to  live,  then 
the  charadrius  looks  steadfastly  into  his  face  and 
draws  the  malady  out  of  him,  and,  flying  up 
towards  the  sun,  causes  the  disease  to  be  con- 
sumed by  the  solar  heat,  so  that  the  sick  man  is 
restored  to  health.  In  like  manner  Jesus  Christ, 
on  whom  there  was  neither  spot  nor  wrinkle,  came 
down  from  heaven  and  turned  his  face  away  from 
the  Jews,  but  looked  with  favour  upon  the  Gentiles 
and  healed  them  of  their  spiritual  infirmities.  Only 
those  upon  whom  the  Lord  lifts  up  the  light  of 
His  countenance  are  sure  of  eternal  life. 

In  architecture,  and  in  the  formative  arts 
generally,  the  charadrius  is  represented  as  looking 
at  the  sick  person  or  turning  away  its  head,  or 
quite  frequently  as  flying  up  into  the  air.  The 
last-mentioned  movement  of  the  bird  is  also  a  sign 

L 


146  Animal    Symbolism 

of  restoration  to  health,  since  it  is  carrying  off  the 
malady  or,  more  scientifically  speaking,  the  bacteria 
of  disease  to  be  burned  and  destroyed  by  the 
intense  heat  of  the  sun.  This  scene  is  carved  in 
stone  on  the  doorway  of  the  church  at  Alne ;  and 
in  the  border  of  a  lancet  window  in  the  apsis  of 
the  cathedral  at  Lyons  is  the  picture  of  a  woman 
half-reclining  on  a  couch,  while  a  bird  is  stretching 
out  its  beak  close  to  her  left  hand,  which  lies  in 
her  lap,  and  another  bird  is  flying  towards  her 
with  its  head  slightly  averted.     Such  delineations 


Charadrius.     [Bcsiiaty. 


are  often  found  in  missals,  prayer-books,  and  similar 
aids  to  devotion,  as,  for  example,  in  the  profusely 
and  curiously  illustrated  manuscript  psalter  of 
Isabella  of  France,  now  in  the  Royal  Library  at 
Munich. 

The  marrow  of  the  thigh-bone  and  the  lungs  of 
this  bird,  which  were  believed  to  be  a  sure  cure 
for  blindness,  are  compared  to  the  chrism,  and 
signify  the  supernatural  power  that  opens  the  eyes 
of  the  spiritually  blind  and  causes  them  to  perceive 
the  truth,  as  in  the  case  of  Saul. 

A  minnesinger  likens  his  lady-love  to  the  chara- 
drius, and  declares  that  it  is  a  question  of  life  or 


In    Ecclesiastical    Architecture     147 


death  whether  her  face  is  turned  from  or  towards 
him.  Another  poet  wishes  that  he  possessed  this 
fatal  faculty  in  order  that  he  might  turn  his  eyes 
from  mean  and  sordid  mortals  and  thus  destroy 
them,  and  insure  long  life  to  the  noble  and  liberal- 
minded  by  looking  benignantly  upon  them. 

Both  the  crow  and  the  turtle-dove  are  typical 
of  Christian  constancy  and  devotion.  If  either  of 
these  birds  loses  its  mate,  it  never  takes  another, 
but  lives  a  life  of  solitude.  As  our  Lord  went 
with  only  three  disciples  to  the  Mount  of  Olives, 
where  He  was  transfigured  before  them  and  heard 
an  approving  voice  from  heaven,  so  His  followers 
should  withdraw  from  the  world  and  devote  them- 
selves to  religious  meditation. 

The  turtle-dove  is  often  referred  to  in  poetry  as 
a  symbol  of  fidelity ;  thus  Gottfried  von  Strasburg 
calls  the  Virgin  Mary  a  turtle-dove  in  faithfulness. 
When  it  loses  its  mate  it  renounces  all  the  plea- 
sures of  life,  never  again  perches  on  a  green  bough, 
but  sits  disconsolate  on  a  dry  branch,  and  never 
drinks  clear  water,  but  first  muddies  the  stream 
with  its  feet,  and  drinks  the  foul  water  as  evidence 
of  its  sorrow. 

A  celebrated  Spanish  lyric  poet  and  doctor  of 
theology  of  the  sixteenth  century.  Fray  Luis  Ponce 
de  Leon,  in  his  famous  version  of  Solomon's  Song, 
which  caused  him  to  be  imprisoned  for  five  years 
in  the  dungeons  of  the  Inquisition,  translates  the 
eleventh  verse  of  the  first  chapter  thus  :  "  We  will 
make  thee  turtle-doves  of  gold  with  tips  of  silver." 


148  Animal    Symbolism 

The  Hebrew  word  tJior  (necklace)  meant  in  his 
opinion  an  ornament  in  the  form  of  a  turtle-dove, 
such  as  lovers  were  wont  to  present  to  their  ladies 
in  token  of  enduring  affection,  and  the  bridegroom 
in  the  Song  of  Songs  promises  his  bride  to  give 
her  one  of  gold,  with  its  beak,  tail,  and  claws 
tipped  with  silver. 

In  architectural  decoration  and  works  of  art, 
two  turtle-doves  are  re- 
presented sitting  together 
on  a  green  bough,  or  a 
single  one  perched  on  a 
dead  branch  mourning 
its  mate.     The  latter  is  a 

(/'../..../";Sr:/.v.„..)      fy^^^ol  of  the  man  who 
is  steadfast  under  tribu- 
lation, and  of  whom  it  is  said,  "  he  that  endureth 
to  the  end  shall  be  saved." 

The  fulica  or  heron  is  wise  and  discreet  above 
all  other  birds.  It  never  touches  carrion,  nor  does 
it  fly  from  place  to  place,  but  abides  in  one  spot, 
dwelling  there  where  it  finds  suitable  food.  So  the 
righteous  do  not  care  for  the  corrupt  things  of  this 
world  and  the  offal  of  evil-mindedness,  neither  do 
they  wander  hither  and  thither  after  false  doctrines, 
but  abide  in  the  simplicity  of  the  faith  in  the 
bosom  of  the  Church,  where  they  are  nourished 
with  the  pure  bread  of  life.  The  ousel  and  the 
merl,  on  account  of  the  sweetness  of  their  song, 
are  typical  of  the  grace  of  God,  and  the  hoopoe  of 
filial  affection. 


In    Ecclesiastical    Architecture     149 

The  swallow,  says  the  Physiologus,  sleeps  all 
winter,  and  wakes  to  new  and  vigorous  life  in  the 
spring,  as  it  is  written  :  "  Awake,  thou  that  sleepest, 
and  arise  from  the  dead,  and  Christ  shall  give  thee 
light."  Luther,  in  his  Latin  commentary  on  the 
passage  in  Genesis  (i.  20),  in  which  it  is  said  that 
the  waters  brought  forth  the  fowl  that  fly  above 
the  earth  and  in  the  open  firmament  of  heaven, 
states,  in  confirmation  of  the  aqueous  origin  of 
birds,  that  even  now  swallows  lie  dormant  all 
winter  in  the  water,  and  issue  from  it  in  the  vernal 
season,  rising  into  the  air  and  thus  repeating 
annually  the  process  of  creation,  and  proving  the 
truth  of  Holy  Writ. 

Ravens,  according  to  the  Physiologiis,  are  hatched 
featherless,  and  remain  callow  for  a  long  time,  and 
are  therefore  not  recognized  by  their  parents,  who 
take  no  care  of  them.  In  their  distress  they  cry 
to  God,  who  sends  them  manna  in  the  form  of 
dew  for  nourishment,  as  the  Psalmist  says  :  "  He 
giveth  food  to  the  young  ravens  which  cry."  After 
twelve  days,  when  the  feathers  begin  to  grow,  the 
old  birds  recognize  their  offspring  and  feed  them. 
Thus  man,  although  made  in  the  image  of  God, 
has  lost  all  resemblance  to  his  Creator ;  but  when 
he  has  grown  through  grace  into  the  divine  like- 
ness, then  God  recognizes  him  as  His  child,  and 
nurtures  him  through  the  sacraments  of  the  Church, 
and  does  not  let  him  perish.  Another  character- 
istic of  the  raven  is  that,  when  it  finds  a  carcass,  it 
first  eats  the  eye.     The  great  religious  truth  drawn 


150  Animal    Symbolism 

from  this  fact  of  natural  history  is  that  "  confession 

and  penance  are  the  ravens  which 

P^^^  pull  out  the  eyes  of  covetousness 

^g^^^  from  the  soul  dead  in  trespasses 

^^^^  and    sins."       In    our    illustration 

^^^sy  both  of  these  symbolisms  of  the 

j^^^r-^^L^      raven  are  set  forth. 

^^^^vj^r^^^N       Concerning     the     wolf,      the 

,„  ^.     ,      bestiaries    inform    us     that   the 

Raven,     (bcsiiary.) 

word  means  ravisher,  and  this  is, 
in  fact,  the  signification  of  the  Sanskrit  name  of 
the  animal,  vrika,  seizer.  For  this  reason,  they  add, 
the  term  is  applied  to  lewd  women.^  A  peculiarity 
of  the  wolf  is  that  it  cannot  turn  its  head,  because 
there  is  no  joint  in  its  neck,  but  must  turn  its 
whole  body  when  it  wishes  to  look  behind,  thus 
symbolizing  people  stiff-necked  and  stubborn  in 
sin.  The  female  whelps  in  the  month  of  May, 
when  it  thunders,  and  at  no  other  time.  She  seeks 
food  by  night,  approaching  the  sheepfold  noise- 
lessly and  against  the  wind,  in  order  that  the  dogs 
may  not  scent  her ;  and  if  she  steps  on  a  dry  twig, 
so  that  it  breaks  and  crackles,  she  bites  her  foot 
severely  as  a  punishment  for  her  carelessness.  Her 
nature  is  such  that  if  she  is  seen  by  a  man  with 
her  mouth  shut,  then  she  loses  the  power  of  opening 

1  Litpa  means  she-wolf  and  prostitute,  and  lupanar^  wolf's 
lair  and  brothel.  Ovis^  sheep,  signifies  ninny  or  simpleton, 
and  the  English  word  is  used  as  a  term  of  contempt. 
Plautus  in  his  comedies  ridicules  the  fast  young  men  of  his 
time  as  sheep  that  cannot  keep  away  from  the  wolves  and 
their  dens. 


In    Ecclesiastical    Architecture     151 

it,  but  if  a  man  is  seen  by  her  with  his  mouth 
open,  then  he  loses  his  voice.  When  she  is  hungry, 
she  fills  her  stomach  with  clay,  but  when  she  has 
taken  prey,  she  puts  her  paw  into  her  gullet  and 
vomits  the  clay,  and  sates  herself  with  flesh. 
Albertus  Magnus,  who  gives  this  account  of  the 
wolfs  method  of  stilling  the  pangs  of  hunger, 
states  likewise  that  the  wolf  is  in  the  habit  of 
lubricating  its  paws  with  spittle  in  order  to  render 
its  footsteps  inaudible.^  Brunetto  Latino  relates 
in  his  Thesaurus,  that  the  wolf  often  presses  its 
paw  to  its  mouth  in  order  to  falsify  or  magnify 
its  voice,  and  thus  frighten  the  shepherds  by 
making  them  think  a  whole  pack  is  coming.  In 
an  engraving  published  by  Cahier  (^Mel.  d'Arch., 
ii.,  pi.  xxii.,  BM)  a  wolf  is  approaching  a  sheep- 
cote,  and  holding  its  paw  to  its  mouth.  It  may 
be  biting  or  lubricating  its  paw, 
keeping  its  mouth  open,  dis- 
gorging clay  with  the  prospect 
of  filling  its  maw  with  tender 
and  succulent  mutton,  magnify- 
ing its  voice,  or  practising  any 
of  the  tricks  which  symbolize  '''°'^-  <^«'''^'^') 
the  many  ruses  of  the  devil  in  his  dealings  with 
mankind. 

It  is  superfluous  and  would  be  tedious  to  make 
further  citations  from  the  Physiologiis,  since  the 
specimens   already  given   suffice   to  illustrate  the 

1  "  Vadens  lupus  per  frondes  lambit  et  lubricas  facit  pedes, 
ne  incessus  audiatur." — De  Animal,  xxii.,  Tract.  II. 


152  Animal    Symbolism 

character  and  purpose  of  the  work.  It  enjoyed  a 
high  reputation  among  the  early  Christians,  and,  as 
we  have  seen,  has  been  translated  into  a  score  or 
more  of  Oriental  and  Occidental  languages.  At 
an  early  period  in  the  history  of  the  Church  it 
was  condemned  as  heretical,  and  forbidden  to  the 
faithful  by  the  apocryphal  decree  of  Gelasius,  but 
found  not  long  afterwards  a  powerful  patron  in 
Gregory  the  Great,  who  made  very  free  use  of  it 
in  scriptural  exposition.  From  the  seventh  to  the 
twelfth  century  it  was  universally  esteemed  as  a 
Christian  compendium  of  natural  history,  and  a 
popular  epitome  of  moral  and  theological  instruc- 
tion. During  this  period  most  of  the  translations 
and  paraphrases  of  it  were  made,  now  kept  as 
curiosities  in  old  libraries,  to  which  they  have  been 
transmitted  as  the  musty  heirlooms  of  mediseval 
monasteries,  secularized  and  suppressed  by  the 
progress  of  modern  civilization. 

The  invention  of  printing  naturally  gave  the 
work  a  wider  diffusion  as  a  folk-book ;  but  long 
before  the  birth  of  Gutenberg  and  the  age  of 
movable  types,  it  was  cited  by  preachers  and 
theologians,  and  used  by  artists  for  the  illustration 
of  sacred  themes,  as  may  be  seen  in  illuminated 
manuscripts  of  the  Bible,  and  in  mediaeval  missals 
and  similar  books  of  devotion.  Thus,  in  a  codex 
of  the  Vulgate  of  the  seventh  century,  the  initials 
and  capitals  are  composed  of  doves,  fishes,  eagles, 
and  other  symbolical  creatures ;  and  an  Evangeli- 
arium,  once  the  property  of  Charlemagne,  and  now 


In    Ecclesiastical    Architecture     153 

belonging  to  the  National  Library  of  Paris,  contains 
a  miniature  representing  the  gospel  fountain  in 
the  form  of  a  Byzantine  baptistery,  to  which  all 
beasts  and  birds  are  flocking  for  refreshment. 
The  beautifully-illuminated  parchment  psalter  of 
Isabella  of  France,  dating  from  the  middle  of  the 
fourteenth  century,  and  already  mentioned  as  one 
of  the  treasures  of  the  Royal  Library  of  Munich, 
has  the  margins  adorned  with  drawings  of  animals, 
which  have  no  direct  relation  to  the  text,  but  only 
a  far-fetched  symbological  significance,  inasmuch 
as  they  elucidate  the  teachings  of  the  Pkysiologus, 
and  represent  scenes  from  Jewish  history  and 
mythology  supposed  to  have  a  prefigurative 
character. 

Virtues  and  vices  are  often  figured  by  women 
contending  for  victory,  and  bearing  shields  on 
which  are  inscribed  their  names  or  emblems,  as, 
for  example,  the  twelve  virtues  and  twelve  vices 
in  the  cathedral  at  Amiens ;  sometimes  they  are 
riding  on  animals,  as  in  the  miniatures  of  a  manu- 
script in  the  Musee  de  Cluny  dating  from  the 
fourteenth  century.  Here  Humility  is  mounted 
on  a  panther.  Chastity  on  a  unicorn ;  Patience  or 
Christian  Resignation  wears  a  helmet  adorned  with 
a  swan,  because  this  fowl  sings  with  its  dying 
breath  like  the  martyrs ;  Love  bears  a  pelican  on 
her  shield;  Devotion  rides  an  ibex,  the  symbol  of 
aspiration  and  perseverance,  owing  to  its  fondness 
for  high  altitudes  and  its  climbing  power,  and  has 
a  phoenix  on  her  shield  to  signify  the   renewing 


154  Animal    Symbolism 

virtue  of  fervid  piety ;  Pride  has  an  eagle  on  her 
shield,  because  this  bird  discards  those  of  her 
young  which  cannot  endure  the  fierce  light  of  the 
sun,  as  a  haughty  spirit  despises  the  meek  and 
lowly ;  on  the  shield  of  Lust  is  a  siren,  whose  sweet 
song  allures  men  to  their  destruction. 

In  the  cloister  connected  with  the  cathedral  of 
Le-Puy-en-Velay  are  mural  paintings  personifying 
Grammar,  Logic,  Rhetoric  (the  trivium),  and  Music. 
Logic  is  a  female  figure  in  a  stately  cathedra,  and 
at  her  feet  is  Aristotle  sitting  on  a  stool  and 
earnestly  carrying  on  a  discussion,  and  noting  the 
points  of  his  argument  on  his  fingers.  Underneath 
is  the  motto :  "  Me  sine  doctores  frustra  coluere 
sorores ; "  implying  that  the  sister  arts  cultivate 
dialectics  in  vain  without  the  aid  of  the  doctors 
or  men  of  learning.  Logic  has  a  rather  amused 
expression,  and  holds  in  her  hands  a  lizard  and 
a  scorpion  engaged  in  fierce  combat,  a  parody  of 
scholastic  disputations  and  the  proverbial  venom  of 
odhiiu  tlieologiaun. 

In  the  Bibles  of  the  tenth  century  the  evangelists 
are  pictured  as  men  with  the  heads  of  beasts ;  and 
the  four  gospels  are  summed  up  symbolically  in 
the  form  of  the  so-called  "  Tetramorph,"  a  four- 
bodied  and  four-headed  monster  composed  of  man, 
ox,  eagle,  and  lion,  with  wings  covered  with  eyes 
like  a  peacock's  tail,  a  combination  of  incongruities 
surpassing  in  whimsicalness  the  famous  Florentine 
bronze  of  the  Etruscan  chimera,  or  the  marvellous 
creations  of  Indian  and  Egyptian  mythology.     A 


In    Ecclesiastical    Architecture     155 

mosaic  of  the  thirteenth  century  in  the  monastery 
of  Vatopedi  on  Mt.  Athos  shows  the  four  heads 
enveloped  by  six  wings,  and  the  feet  of  the  man 
resting  on  two-winged  wheels,  as  described  in  the 
visions  of  Ezekiel  and  of  St.  John  the  Divine.  A 
tetramorph  sculptured  out  of  stone,  ridden   by  a 


The  Gospel  and  the  Law.     {HortHs  Deliciarnm.) 

woman  with  a  crown  on  her  head,  and  dating  from 
the  year  1300,  adorns  the  south  portal  of  the 
cathedral  at  Worms,  and  is  exhibited  in  a  plaster 
cast  in  the  Germanic  Museum  at  Nuremberg.  It 
typifies  the  rapid  triumph  of  the  gospel.  A  mini- 
ature in   the  HorUis  Delicianun^  formerly  in   the 


156  Animal    Symbolism 

Strasburg  Library,  represents  a  similar  monster,  on 
which  is  seated  a  woman  wearing  a  crown,  bearing 
a  banner,  holding  a  goblet  in  her  hand,  and 
catching  the  blood  from  the  side  of  the  crucified 
Saviour ;  another  woman  mounted  on  an  ass,  and 
partially  blindfolded,  holds  in  her  right  hand  a 
knife,  and  in  her  left  hand  the  tables  of  the  law 
and  a  ram  for  sacrifice.  They  signify  respectively 
the  New  and  the  Old  Dispensation.  Above  the  cross 
on  the  gospel  side  is  a  radiant  sun,  and  on  the 
opposite  side  a  waning  moon.  The  standard  of 
Judaism,  instead  of  floating  in  the  breeze,  has 
fallen  to  the  ground ;  the  attitude  of  the  ass  and 
the  noose  at  its  feet  are  intended  to  illustrate  the 
passage  referring  to  the  cross  as  "a  snare,  and  a 
trap,  and  a  stumbling-block  "  to  Israel. 

On  the  cover  of  an  Evangeliarium  in  the  cathedral 
library  of  Trier  is  a  plate  of  copper  enamel  en- 
graved with  biblical  scenes  ;  in  the  centre  is  the 
Crucifixion,  and  standing  round  the  cross  are  Mary 
and  John  and  the  symbolical  figures  of  the  Church 
and  the  Synagogue ;  above  are  the  sun  and  moon 
in  eclipse,  indicating  that  "  there  was  darkness  over 
all  the  earth." 

The  church  of  Saint-Nizier  at  Troyes  has  a 
stained  window  of  the  sixteenth  century  with  a 
representation  of  the  apocalyptic  beast  which  rose 
out  of  the  sea  having  seven  heads  and  ten  horns,  as 
well  as  of  the  other  beast,  which  came  up  out  of 
the  earth  and  had  two  horns  like  a  lamb;  the 
artist  appears,  however,  to  have  been  over-liberal  in 


In    Ecclesiastical    Architecture      157 

endowing  the  monster  with  eleven  horns,  counting 
that  of  the  snail. 


Beasts  of  the  ApocaljTJse.     {Saint-Nizier  of  Troyes.) 

In  the  church  of  St.  Nicholas  at  Gottingen  is  a 
picture  dating  from  1424,  and  symbolizing  the 
origin  and  formation,  or  rather  the  fabrication,  of 
Christian  theology.  God  the  Father  appears  in 
the  sky  with  the  four  evangelists  as  man,  ox,  eagle, 
and  lion,  hovering  like  angels  beneath  Him  and 
holding  Him  up.  Each  has  in  his  hand  a  vessel 
from  which  he  pours  the  contents  of  his  gospel, 


158  Animal    Symbolism 

indicated  by  a  label  containing  the  first  words  of  it, 
into  two  mills  turned  by  the  twelve  apostles  by 
means  of  long  bars.  The  several  gospels,  thus  reduced 
to  homogeneous  pulp  by  passing  through  the  mills  of 
the  epistles,  run  out  into  a  large  goblet  held  by  a 
pope,  an  archbishop,  a  bishop,  and  a  cardinal.  It  is 
designed  to  show  that  the  evangelists  were  inspired 
by  God  to  write  the  gospels,  which  were  then 
elaborated  by  the  apostles  into  doctrinal  consistency 
as  the  expressed  juice  of  Scripture  or  essence  of 
theology,  and  that  this  product  is  in  the  keeping  of 
the  Church  and  to  be  dispensed  by  the  sacerdotal 
order.  On  two  labels  issuing  from  the  lower  part 
of  the  mill  are  inscribed  the  words  et  dens  erat  vbni 
("and  the  Word  was  God"  )  and  et  vbvi  caro  ftni.  c. 
("and  the  Word  was  made  flesh").  Here  we  have 
the  crude  symbolism  of  the  divine  Incarnation,  as 
it  is  ground  out  of  Holy  Writ  by  apostolic  theolo- 
gians and  presented  in  potable  form  to  believers 
by  ecclesiastical  dignitaries.  We  may  add,  as  an 
interesting  coincidence,  that  this  conception  of  our 
sacred  writings  corresponds  to  that  entertained  by 
the  Brahmans,  who  speak  of  the  magical  and 
supernatural  virtue  inherent  in  the  Vedic  hymns  or 
mantras  as  the  juice  {rasa)  of  the  metres,  which  is 
expressed  and  utilized  by  the  ritual  machinery  of 
song  and  sacrifice.  This  essence  is  the  wonder- 
working bvahma^  the  monopoly  of  which  by  the 
priests  is  the  chief  source  of  their  power. 

On   the  capital   of  a   column    in   the  abbey  of 
Vezelai  in   Burgundy  is  a  relief  representing  two 


In    Ecclesiastical    Architecture      159 

men  working  at  a  mill,  one  pouring  corn  into  the 
hopper,  and  the  other  turning  the  crank  and  hold- 
ing a  sack  to  receive  the  flour.  St.  Jerome,  in  his 
exposition  of  Matthew  xxiv.  41,  says  the  two 
women,  there  said  to  be  grinding  at  the  mill,  signify 


Gospel-mill.    (Abbey  of  Vezelai  in  Burgundy.) 

the  Synagogue  and  the  Church ;  the  former  brings 
the  wheat  of  the  law,  and  the  latter  separates  from 
it  the  fine  flour  of  the  gospel,  leaving  only  the  bran 
of  empty  ceremonialism  as  the  portion  of  Judaism. 
This  forced  interpretation  was  not  original  with  the 
learned  and  ingenious  anchorite,  but  seems  to  have 
been  traditional  in  the  primitive  Church,  and  is 
frequently  met  with  in  patristic  theology. 


i6o  Animal    Symbolism 

The  two  men  in  the  relief  just  mentioned  are  a 
Hebrew  prophet  and  the  Apostle  Paul.  The  latter, 
who  was  educated  as  a  disciple  of  Gamaliel  and 
became  the  first  systematic  theologist  of  the  Church 
and  the  real  founder  of  dogmatic  and  historical 
Christianity,  dwells  in  his  epistles  with  peculiar 
emphasis  on  the  relations  of  Judaic  rites  and 
ceremonies  to  the  New  Dispensation,  and  might 
therefore  be  fitly  portrayed  as  an  assiduous  toiler 
at  the  typological  mill,  by  which,  in  the  words  of  a 
Father,  the  precious  grain  of  the  Old  Testament 
Scriptures  is  ground  and  bolted  and  converted  into 
the  flour  of  gospel  truth.  In  a  mediaeval  Latin 
verse  descriptive  of  this  process  the  apostle  of  the 
Gentiles  is  expressly  mentioned — 

'  Tollis,  agendo  molam,  de  furfure  Paule  farinam  ; 
Mosaicas  legis  intima  nota  facis. 
Fit  de  tot  granis  verus  sine  furfure  panis 
Perpetuusque  cibus  noster  et  angelicus." 

'•  Turning  the  mill,  O  Paul,  thou  takest  the  flour  from  the 
bran  ; 
The  hidden  things  of  the  Mosaic  law  thou  makest  known. 
Of  so  many  grains  is  made  true  bread  without  bran, 
Eternal  food  for  us  and  food  for  the  angels." 

The  symbolism  of  the  mill  is  often  delineated 
on  painted  windows,  as,  for  example,  in  the  cathe- 
dral of  St.  Etienne  in  Bourges  and  in  Canterbury 
Cathedral.  According  to  a  description  of  the 
Benedictine  Abbey  of  Saint-Denis  written  by  the 
celebrated  Abbot  Suger  in  the  twelfth  century 
{de  rebus  adminisiratione  sua  gesiis),  one  of  the 


In    Ecclesiastical   Architecture      i6i 

stained  windows  contained  a  representation  of  the 
prophets  pouring  grain  into  the  hopper  of  a  mill, 
while  Paul  turns  the  crank  and  bags  the  grist.  The 
same  idea  of  the  propedeutic  and  prefigurative 
relation  of  Judaism  to  Christianity  is  expressed  on 
another  gorgeously-stained  window  in  the  cathedral 
of  Bourges  by  the  ark  of  the  covenant  surmounted 
by  a  crucifix  and  drawn  by  a  man,  an  ox,  an  eagle, 
and  a  lion,  the  four  beasts  of  the  evangelists,  thus 
transforming  the  sacred  repository  of  the  tables  of 
the  law  into  the  triumphal  chariot  of  the  cross,  as 
intimated  in  the  accompanying  inscription — 

"  FcEderis  ex  area  cruce  Christi  sistitur  ara, 
Fcedere  majori  vult  ibi  Vita  mori  .  .  ." 

In  a  window  of  the  church  at  Bron  in  France, 
belonging  to  the  sixteenth  century,  there  is  a  paint- 
ing of  Christ  seated  on  a  globe  in  a  four-wheeled 
chariot  drawn  by  an  angel,  an  ox,  a  lion,  and  an 
eagle,  and  attended  by  a  pope  and  a  cardinal  at  the 
fore  wheels  and  two  bishops  at  the  hind  wheels, 
pushing  it  along.  An  ivory  carving  of  the  eleventh 
century  in  the  Bodleian  Library,  Oxford,  shows  the 
Virgin  with  a  cross  on  her  shoulder,  a  book  in  her 
hand,  and  her  feet  on  a  lion,  a  dragon,  a  crocodile, 
and  wolf,  and  in  a  manuscript  of  the  same  period 
in  the  National  Library  at  Paris  the  Virgin  holds  a 
palm  branch  and  tramples  on  a  skeleton  and  a 
dragon,  signifying  the  victory  of  the  gospel  over 
death  and  the  powers  of  darkness. 

It  is  rather  strange   that   the  cock,  which  is  so 

M 


1 62  Animal    Symbolism 

frequently  mentioned  in  the  Scriptures,  and  which 
plays  so  important  and  honourable  a  part  as  the 
monitor  and  reprover  of  the  cowardly  and  recreant 
Peter,  should  be  entirely  passed  over  by  the  PJiy- 
siologus  and  the  bestiaries.  On  ancient  pagan  and 
early  Christian  sarcophagi  two  fighting-cocks  are 
often  sculptured,  one  of  which  has  already  suc- 
cumbed to  the  onsets  of  its  adversary,  and  were 
probably  intended  to  represent  the  battle  of  life. 
The  cock  typifies  both  vigilance  and  liberality, 
because  it  is  always  on  the 
watch,  and  when  it  finds 
anything,  it  does  not  eat 
it,  but  calls  the  hens  to- 
gether and  divides  it  among 
0  '^i^rj'Jr^  them.     In  like  manner  the 

IP  /.  ^°'/-V^ wf  ^'f;       .    preacher   should    distribute 

KP Salter  of  Isabella  of  h  ranee. )      ^ 

among  his  flock  the  kernels 
of  divine  truth  which  he  discovers  in  Holy  Writ, 
picking  them  into  pieces  in  order  that  they  may  be 
more  readily  taken  in  and  digested,  as  a  mediaeval 
poet  declares — 

"  Gallus  granum  reperit,  convocat  uxores 
Et  illud  distribuit  inter  cariores. 
Tales  discant  clerici  pietatis  mores, 
Dando  suis  subditis  scriptuarum  flores  ; 
Sic  sua  distribuere  cunctis  derelictis, 
Atque  curam  gerere  nudis  stafflictis." 

It  might  be  added  that  the  preacher  should  not 
be  a  weather-cock,  blown  about  by  every  wind  of 
doctrine.  In  the  Musee  de  Cluny  is  a  manuscript 
of    roundelays    addressed    to    Louise   of    Savoy, 


In    Ecclesiastical    Architecture      163 


Countess  of  Angouleme  and  mother  of  Francis  I. 
of  France,  with  illustra- 
tions of  the  seven  Virtues 
subduing  their  opposite 
Vices ;  among  them  is 
Liberality  mounted  on  a 
cock  pouring  gold  coins 
out  of  a  vessel  with  one 
hand  and  holding  a  large 
platter  or  salver  in  the 
other  ;  at  her  feet  is  Avar- 
ice bestriding  an  ape. 

The  cockatrice  or  basi- 
lisk, on  the  other  hand, 
holds  a  prominent  place 
in  mediaeval  symbology 
and  ecclesiastical  archi- 
tecture. This  little  king 
(^ao-tXto-Kos)  of  reptiles,  so 
called  because  the  wart 
on  its  head  resembles  a  crown,  had  the  reputation 
of  being  a  terror  to  all  its  subjects,  the  most  vene- 
mous  serpents  fleeing  affrighted  when  they  hear  its 
hiss.  It  is  hatched  from  the  egg  laid  by  a  cock  in  the 
seventh  year  of  its  age,  and  it  happens  in  this  wise. 
When  the  egg  has  grown  large,  it  produces  an 
intense  griping  in  the  bowels  of  the  cock,  which 
seeks  a  warm  place  in  a  stable  or  on  a  dung-heap, 
and  there  lays  the  egg.  A  serpent  or  toad  then 
comes  and  sits  on  it,  and  hatches  a  creature  with 
the  head  of  a  cock  and  the  body  of  a  reptile.     No 


Liberality  and  Avarice. 
(^Mamcscript  in  Mitsee  dc  Chtny.) 


1 64  Animal    Symbolism 

sooner  is  it  bom  than  it  hides  itself  in  a  crevice  or 
cistern,  or  in  the  rafters  of  a  house,  so  as  not  to  be 
seen  by  any  one  ;  for  such  is  its  nature  that  if  a  man 
sees  it  before  it  sees  him,  it  will  die,  but  if  it  sees 
him  first,  he  will  fall  down  dead.  It  has  also  the 
power  of  darting  poison  from  its  eyes,  so  deadly 
that  it  kills  birds  flying  over  the  spot  where  it  lies 
hidden ;  even  herbs  and  shrubs,  which  it  touches 
in  passing,  wither  away.  This  baneful  reptile  is 
beautiful  in  form  and  colour,  having  a  skin  of 
variegated  hues  spotted  with  white ;  but,  adds  the 
author  in  a  moralizing  strain,  beauty  is  often  asso- 
ciated with  badness.  Whoever  wishes  to  slay  the 
basilisk,  holds  before  his  face  a  vessel  of  crystal 
through  which  he  looks  at  the  beast;  and  the 
crystal  not  only  arrests  the  venom  issuing  from  its 
eyes,  but  even  causes  it  to  be  reflected  and  hurled 
back  upon  the  animal,  which  is  killed  by  the  fatal 
recoil. 

The  basilisk  signifies  the  devil,  who  entered  into 
Paradise  and  enticed  our  first  parents  to  eat  of  the 
forbidden  fruit.  For  this  transgression  they  were 
driven  forth  from  Eden,  and  when  they  had  passed 
away  from  the  earth,  which  they  had  corrupted, 
they  were  cast  into  the  burning  pit  with  the  basilisk. 
Then  the  merciful  Son  of  the  King  of  Heaven  took 
pity  on  the  many  people  poisoned  by  this  old  ser- 
pent, which  no  one  had  been  able  to  destroy ;  and 
He  chose  a  vessel  clearer  than  crystal,  the  blessed 
body  of  our  Lady,  the  purest  of  virgins,  in  which  to 
encounter  the  direful  foe.     And  when  the  basilisk 


In    Ecclesiastical    Architecture      165 

darted  the  venom  from  its  eyes,  the  vessel  caught  it 
and  threw  it  back  upon  the  reptile,  which  languished 
during  the  thirty  years  of  Christ's  incarnation,  until 
the  victory  was  fully  won  by  the  crucifixion.  And 
after  He  had  been  placed  in  the  tomb,  He  rose 
again  on  the  third  day  and  descended  into  the  pit, 
where  the  basilisk  had  concealed  itself,  and  rescued 
all  those  who  had  been  infected  with  its  poison 
from  the  time  of  Adam,  and  restored  them  to 
everlastincf  life. 


Fighting  the  Basilisk.     {Abbey  of  I'izelai.') 


Jacopo  da  Lentino  in  his  erotics  makes  the  fable 
illustrate  the  perils  of  love ;  and  a  Provengal  poet, 
Aimeric  de  Pregulhan,  compares  himself  to  a 
basilisk  and  his  mistress  to  a  mirror,  which  he 
cannot  look  upon  without  being  smitten  to  death. 

The  basilisk  figures  frequently  in  illustrations  of 
devotional  works  and  in  sacred  architecture,  as,  for 


1 66  Animal    Symbolism 

example,  on  the  capital  of  a  column  in  the  church 
of  the  Abbey  of  Vezelai,  where  a  man  approaches 
the  hissing  reptile,  holding  a  conical  vessel  as  a 
shield  before  his  face;  near  him  is  an  enormous 
locust  with  a  human  head.  This  sculpture  symbol- 
izes the  redemption  of  the  Gentile  world  from  the 
thralls  of  Satan  by  the  atonement  of  Christ.  Beda, 
in  his  commentary  on  the  thirtieth  chapter  of  Pro- 
verbs, says  :  "  Locusts  refer  to  the  nations  formerly 
without  Christ  for  their  king,  without  prophets, 
without  teachers;  but  now  gathered  together  in 
the  unity  of  the  faith,  they  hasten  to  the  spiritual 
combat  against  the  devil."  This  is  a  spiritualiza- 
tion  of  the  passage  :  "  The  locusts  have  no  king, 
yet  they  go  forth  all  of  them  in  bands  "  (xxx.  27), 
or,  as  it  reads  in  the  Vulgate :  "  Regem  locusta  non 
habet,  et  egreditur  universa  per  suas  turmas,"  a 
rendering  which  facilitates  the  symbolical  inter- 
pretation given  by  the  venerable  Anglo-Saxon 
presbyter. 

Gregory  the  Great,  in  his  exposition  of  Job 
{Moralia,  sive  Expositiones  in  Jobuni),  states,  in 
explanation  of  the  verse  "  Canst  thou  make  him 
afraid  as  a  grasshopper  ? "  that  grasshopper  or  locust 
signifies  converted  paganism  ("conversagentilitas"). 
This,  he  adds,  is  what  Solomon  means  when  he 
says,  "  The  almond  tree  shall  flourish,  the  locust 
shall  grow  fat,  and  the  caper  bush  shall  waste 
away."^     "  Now  the  almond  flowers  before  all  other 

^  This  is  the  Vulgate  version  of  Eccl.  xii.  5  :  "  Florebit 
amygdalus,  impinguabitur  locusta,  dissipabitur  capparis." 


In    Ecclesiastical    Architecture      167 


trees;  and  what  is  meant  by  the  flowering  almond, 
unless  it  be  the  beginning  of  the  holy  Church,  which 
put  forth  in  its  preachers  the  first  blossoms  of  virtue 
and  bore  the  earliest  fruits  of  holiness?  'The  locust 
shall  grow  fat '  signifies  that  the  unction  and  rich- 
ness of  heavenly  grace  shall  be  infused  into  the 
leanness  and  barrenness  of  heathenism.  'The  caper 
bush  shall  waste  away,'  because,  when  the  Gentiles 
are  called  and  attain  the  gift  of  faith,  the  Jews  shall 
be  left  desolate,  and  shall  remain  sterile,"  In  this 
connection  Gregory  quotes  the  passage  from  Pro- 
verbs (xxx.  27),  already  mentioned,  and  interprets 
it  as  referring  to  the  Gentiles,  who,  when  they  were 
left  to  themselves,  were  alien  to  the  Divine  law, 
but,  when  they  were  gathered  and  arrayed  together, 
went  forward  to  fight  the  fight  of  faith  against 
spiritual  adversaries. 

The  locust  with  a  human  head  signifies  the  Gen- 
tile nations  united  under  Christ  as  their  head  to 
war  against  Satan.  "The  basilisk  is  the  king  of 
serpents,"  says  Gregory,  "  but  who  is  the  head  of 
the  reprobates,  unless  it  be  Antichrist  ? "  Essen- 
tially the  same  exegesis  is  given  by  St.  Hilarius  in 
his  commentary  on  Matthew  iii.  4,  where  locusts 
are  mentioned  as  the  principal  articles  of  food  of 
John  the  Baptist,  the  forerunner  of  Him  who  was 
to  gather  in  the  Gentiles,  and  also  by  St.  Am- 
brosius  in  his  remarks  on  the  third  chapter  of 
Luke,  so  that  Gregory  cannot  claim  to  be  the 
originator  of  this  brilliant  feat  of  hermeneutics. 
Odo,  the    second  Abbot    of   Cluny,    in  the  fourth 


1 68  Animal    Symbolism 

decade  of  the  tenth  century,  abridged  the  Moralia 
of  Gregory,  and  it  was  probably  to  this  work  that 
the  sculpture  in  the  church  at  Vezelai  owes  its 
origin,  since  Vezelai  stood  for  a  long  time  in  inti- 
mate relations  to  Cluny,  and,  indeed,  seems  at  this 
time  to  have  been  to  some  extent  under  the  juris- 
diction of  the  rich  and  powerful  Benedictine  abbey 
on  the  Grone. 

Another  capital  in  the  abbey  of  Vezelai  repre- 
sents in  relief  a  man  in  a  Phrygian  cap  mounted 
on   a  basilisk  and  holdino;  a  round  missile  in  his 


'ss?.- 


Sphinx  and  Basilisk.     {^Albey  of  Vezelai.) 

right  hand.  His  arm  is  drawn  back  as  if  in  the 
act  of  hurling  this  weapon  at  a  sphinx-like  crea- 
ture, that  has  the  head  of  a  woman  and  the  feet  of 
an  ox,  and  wards  off  the  attack  by  means  of  a 
crystal  vessel,  as  already  described.  The  basilisk 
begins  to  show  signs  of  succumbing  to  the  retro- 
flex  action  of  its  own  venom.  The  sphinx,  if  we 
may  regard  the  cloven-hoofed  monster  as  such, 
wears  a  crown,  and  is  partially  clad  in  armour,  and 
is  probably  a  symbol  of  spiritual  knowledge  and 
strength  overcoming  evil. 


In    Ecclesiastical   Architecture      169 

Albertus  Magnus,  the  most  circumspect  and 
critical  of  mediaeval  scholars  touching  the  marvel- 
lous tales  which  constituted  the  natural  history  of  his 
day,  remarks :  "  What  is  related  about  an  old  cock 
('decrepitum  gallum')  laying  an  egg^  and  putting  it 
in  the  dung,  and  about  a  basilisk  being  hatched 
out  of  it,  and  looking  like  a  cock  in  all  respects 
except  that  it  has  the  long  tail  of  a  serpent,  I  do 
not  think  is  true ;  yet  it  is  reported  as  a  fact  by 
Hermes,  and  is  accepted  by  many  persons"  (De 
Animal.^  xxiii.). 

In  the  same  treatise  (xxv.)  he  adds  :  "  It  is  said 
that  the  weasel  kills  the  basilisk,  and  that  the 
troglodytes  of  Nubia  send  weasels  into  their  caves 
for  this  purpose  before  entering  these  habitations 
themselves.  And  if  this  be  true,  it  seems  indeed 
wonderful.  .  .  .  Hermes  also  asserts  that  if  silver 
be  rubbed  with  its  ashes,  it  receives  the  splendour, 
weight,  and  solidity  of  gold.  Some  aver,  further- 
more, that  there  is  a  sort  of  basilisk  that  flies,  but  I 
have  not  read  of  this  kind  in  the  books  of  sages 
and  philosophers." 

Evidently  the  basilisk  was  a  riddle  to  the  great 
Dominican,  Aristotelian,  and  Doctor  Universalis, 
of  which  he  could  find  no  satisfactory  solution — a 
creature  which  excited  his  wonder,  and  made  ex- 
cessive demands  on  his  credulity,  but  which  he 
could  not  dismiss  as  a  mere  figment  of  superstitious 
fancy,  owing  to  the  weight  of  testimony  in  its 
favour,  and  especially  on  account  of  the  deference 
due  to  the   almost   supernatural   and   semi-divine 


1 70  Animal    Symbolism 

authority  of  Hermes  Trismegistus.  The  mythical 
cock's  egg,  however,  continued  during  the  middle 
ages,  and  even  into  modern  times,  to  furnish  the 
principal  ingredient  for  the  fabrication  of  witches' 
ointment,  the  devil's  chrism,  with  which  he  an- 
ointed his  elect,  and  thereby  enabled  old  hags  to 
transform  themselves  into  beasts,  ride  through  the 
air  on  broomsticks,  and  work  divers  kinds  of 
fiendish  mischief  How  this  belief  compromised 
our  innocent  but  ostentatious  knight  of  the  barn- 
yard, and  led  to  his  criminal  prosecution  and 
punishment  as  a  satellite  of  Satan  and  phar- 
maceutical purveyor  to  his  infernal  majesty,  has 
been  shown  by  the  author  in  a  work  entitled  T/ie 
Criminal  Prosecution  and  Capital  Punishment  of 
Animals. 

Modern  science,  which,  in  its  mission  of  abolish- 
ing mysteries,  has  relegated  so  many  ancient  fables 
and  venerable  traditions  to  that 

"  limbo  large  and  broad,  since  called 
The  paradise  of  fools,'' 

and  which  tends  more  and  more  to  circumscribe 
and  gradually  eliminate  the  sphere  of  the  miracu- 
lous in  nature,  has  now  stripped  the  dread  basilisk 
of  its  fatal  qualities.  The  sole  residuum  which 
sober  research  has  left  us  is  a  harmless  species 
of  hooded  lizard,  whose  only  peculiarity  is  the 
power  of  blowing  up  its  conical  crest  with  wind. 
The  cockatrice,  with  its  "death-darting"  eye,  has 
been  curtailed  of  its   formidable   proportions  and 


In    Ecclesiastical    Architecture      171 

degraded  to  a  funny  little  saurian,  which  might 
serve  to  amuse  children,  but  has  lost  all  the  terrors 
with  which  mythical  zoology  once  invested  it  even 
in  the  minds  of  the  most  intelligent  men  and 
greatest  thinkers  of  their  day.  The  transformation, 
too,  which  scholarly  opinion  and  popular  belief 
have  undergone  on  this  point  is  typical  of  the 
functions  and  efficiency  of  science  in  subverting 
superstition. 

Besides  its  value  as  a  key  to  zoological  sym- 
bolism as  expressed  in  art  and  literature,  and 
especially  in  hermeneutical  theology  and  ecclesias- 
tical architecture,  the  Physiologus  is  psychologically 
interesting  as  an  index  to  the  intellectual  condition 
of  an  age  which  could  accept  its  absurd  statements 
as  scientific  facts,  and  seriously  apply  them  to 
biblical  exegesis  and  Christian  dogmatics. 

In  addition  to  the  Scriptural  expositions  already 
cited,  the  following  may  serve  as  specimens  of  the 
wretched  twaddle  which  men  now  revered  as  the 
lights  of  the  Church,  and  quoted  as  infallible  au- 
thorities in  questions  of  divinity,  were  capable  of 
uttering.  "  David  said  :  '  As  the  hart  panteth  after 
the  water-brooks,  so  panteth  my  soul  after  thee,  O 
God.'  The  Physiologus  tells  us  that  the  hart  is 
the  foe  of  the  dragon,  which,  when  it  sees  its 
enemy,  runs  away  and  creeps  into  a  cleft  of  the 
rocks.  Then  the  hart  goes  to  a  stream  and  fills 
his  belly  with  water,  and  spews  it  into  the  cleft, 
and,  having  thus  drowned  out  the  dragon,  tramples 
it  under  his  feet  and  kills  it ;  as  the  prophet  Isaiah 


172  Animal    Symbolism 

predicts  that  at  the  coming  of  Christ  a  man  shall 
'go  into  the  clefts  of  the 
rocks,  and  into  the  tops  of 
the  ragged  rocks,  for  fear  of 
the  Lord.'  Thus  our  Saviour 
slew  with  the  water  and  blood 
flowing  from  His  side  the 
great  dragon  that  was  once  a 
Hart  and  Dragon.  {Bestiary.)  partakcr  of  Divine  wisdom 
in  heaven,  and  redeemed 
us  thereby,  and  taught  us  to  contend  against  the 
hidden  designs  of  the  devil.  Hearken  then  to  the 
voice  within  thee,  which  bids  thee  not  to  commit 
whoredom,  nor  to  steal,  nor  to  go  after  another 
man's  wife;  but,  when  thou  hast  drunken  of  the 
water  of  the  New  Law,  kill  all  idle  words  and  vain 
works.  The  hart  loves  to  dwell  in  hilly  regions; 
hills  are  types  of  the  contemplative  life  of  prophets 
and  saints,  and  the  sources  of  spiritual  strength  ;  as 
the  Psalmist  says :  '  I  will  lift  up  mine  eyes  unto 
the  hills,  from  whence  cometh  my  help.'  "  Accord- 
ing to  the  exegetist  the  hart  longs  for  water  not 
in  order  to  quench  thirst,  but  for  the  purpose  of 
expelling  dragons  from  their  holes.  Others  assert 
that  the  hart,  in  killing  the  dragon,  inhales  its 
poisonous  breath,  which  produces  intense  thirst  and 
consequent  longing  for  the  water-brooks.  Either 
interpretation  shows  the  tendency  of  the  expositor 
to  seek  extravagant  and  far-fetched  explanations 
of  the  simplest  texts,  thus  violating  one  of  the 
most  elementary  principles  of  scientific  investigation. 


In    Ecclesiastical    Architecture      173 

The  hart  was  also  fabled  to  renew  its  antlers 
and  become  rejuvenated  by  eating  serpents  and 
drinking  from  a  pure  spring,  and  this  characteristic 
is  used  by  ^milius  Dracontius  in  his  poem  De 
Deo  to  symbolize  the  regeneration  of  the  human 
soul  and  its  purification  from  evil  by  the  waters  of 
salvation.  Representations  of  the  hostility  of  the 
hart  to  the  dragon  occur  occasionally  in  ecclesias- 
tical architecture,  but  very  frequently  in  illustrated 
bestiaries,  breviaries,  psalters,  and  other  devotional 
works. 

Again,  we  are  informed  that  "  the  antelope  is  a 
wild  animal  with  two  power- 
ful horns,  with  which  it  saws 
trees  asunder  and  fells  them. 
When  it  is  thirsty  it  goes 
down  to  the  Euphrates  to 
drink.  Growing  on  the  banks 
of  this  river  are  certain 
shrubs  of  pleasant  savour, 
which  the  antelope  attempts  Ameiope.  (Bestiary.) 
to  eat,  and  thereby  gets  its  horns  entangled  in 
the  branches,  so  that  it  cannot  free  itself  again. 
Then  it  cries  out  with  a  loud  voice,  and  the  hunters 
hearing  it  hasten  to  take  it,  or  it  is  killed  by  beasts 
of  prey.  The  two  horns  are  the  Books  of  the  Old 
and  New  Testaments,  with  which  the  believer  can 
resist  the  adversary  and  push  him  to  the  ground, 
and  can  cut  down  all  growing  sins  and  vices  ;  but 
he  who  allows  himself  to  be  drawn  aside  from  the 
waters  of  salvation  by  the  pleasures  of  the  world, 


174  Animal    Symbolism 


and  gets  entangled  in  the  thickets  of  lust  and  pride 
and  evil  passions,  falls  an  easy  prey  to  the  devil." 
The  author  then  quotes  as  a  passage  from  Holy 
Writ  the  words  "  Wine  and  women  separate  a 
man  from  God,"  evidently  an  inference  from  the 
admonitions  contained  in  Prov.  xxxi.  3-5. 

The  fiction  of  the  antelope  is  alluded  to  by 
minnesingers  in  illustration  of  the  fate  of  malicious 
and  meddlesome  courtiers,  who  are  finally  taken 
and  destroyed  in  the  web  of  their  own  devices.  A 
Venetian  marble  relief  of  the  tenth  century,  now 
in  the  Berlin  Museum,  represents  a  lion  attacking 
an  antelope ;  it  symbolizes  Satan  assaulting  the 
soul,  and  is  based  upon  the  fable  of  the  Physiologus. 


Antelope  on  the  Euphrates.    (^Psalter  of  Isabella  of  France.) 

The  mishap  of  the  antelope  was  a  favourite 
theme  of  mediaeval  artists,  who  usually  gave  only  the 
final  scene,  in  which  the  entangled  beast  is  killed ; 
in  the  engraving,  taken  from  the  illuminated 
psalter  of  Isabella  of  France,  the  whole  story  is 
told.  It  is  also  one  of  the  beasts  on  the  arch  of 
the  doorway  at  Alne. 

In  the  bestiaries  barnacle  geese  are  described  as 
growing  on  trees  by  the  sea-side,  and  hanging  from 
the  boughs  by  their  beaks  until  they  are  covered 


In    Ecclesiastical    Architecture      175 


.^<mm^. 


Barnacle  Geese.     (Besliaiy.) 


with  feathers  and  fall  like  ripe  fruit.  If  they  reach 
the  water  they  swim  and 
live,  but  if  they  remain 
on  the  dry  ground  they 
perish.  They  illustrate 
the  saving  efficacy  of  bap- 
tism. Gerard  of  Wales  1 
cites  this  legend  as  a 
fact  designed  to  prove 
the  doctrine  of  the  Im- 
maculate Conception,  as 
these  birds  are  born  with- 
out procreation. 

It  must  be  remembered  that  the  men  who  wrote 
such  hermeneutical  stuff  as  this,  and  took  such 
childish  tales  seriously  as  the  testimony  of  nature 
to  the  truth  of  revelation,  were  not  obscure  and 
ignorant  persons,  but  the  most  learned  divines  and 
eminent  representatives  of  the  early  Church,  the 
creators  of  patristic  theology,  the  great  exegetists 
and  eloquent  apologists,  who  were  deemed  worthy 
of  canonization  and  adoration  as  saints.  But  what 
preacher  of  to-day,  if  we  except  perhaps  an 
American  backwoods  evangelist,  or  illiterate  Capu- 
chin discoursing  to  rude  peasants  in  the  remote 
districts  of  Southern  Italy,  would  risk  his  reputa- 
tion for  sanity  by  expatiating  from  the  pulpit  or 
expounding  the  Bible  in  this  style .''  And  yet  it 
was  by  this  credulous  and  utterly  uncritical  class 

1  Gerald.  Top.  Hibern.  v.  47.    Cf.  Jacobs:  T/ie  Jews  of 
Angeviy,  England,  p.  54. 


176  Animal    Symbolism 


of  minds  that  the  foundations  of  historical  and 
dogmatic  Christianity  were  laid,  and  the  constitu- 
tion and  canonicity  of  our  sacred  Scriptures  deter- 
mined. It  was  they  who  framed  the  accepted 
creed  of  Christendom,  and  settled  ex  cathedra  what 
doctrines  were  to  be  received  as  orthodox,  and 
what  opinions  were  to  be  rejected  as  heretical. 
Persons  more  incompetent  to  decide  any  of  the 
difficult  and  delicate  questions  thus  submitted  to 
their  judgment  can  hardly  be  imagined.  Their 
belief  in  any  event  was  in  direct  proportion  to  its 
marvellousness  and  incredibility,  and  the  highest 
law  of  evidence  which  they  recognized  and  applied 
as  the  test  of  divine  truth  was  Tertullian's  famous 
criterion :  "  Credo  quia  absurdum."  The  queer 
and  often  comical  irrelevancy  of  their  citations  of 
biblical  texts  to  the  matter  under  discussion  betrays 
their  lack  of  logical  faculty,  and  their  incapacity 
for  close  and  consecutive  thinking.  They  do  not 
show  the  slightest  ability  to  sift  testimony  and  to 
separate  the  true  from  the  false  in  any  statement ; 
on  the  principle  of  omne  niirabile  pro  probabili  they 
were  ready  to  accept  as  indubitable  whatever  was 
sufficiently  wonderful,  and  to  regard  as  conclusive 
demonstration  a  petitio  principii  which  a  modern 
school-boy  of  ordinary  acumen  would  easily  detect. 
It  is  evident  that  minds  so  implicitly  credulous 
could  have  had  no  proper  appreciation  of  the  prob- 
lems which  the  rise  and  growth  of  Christianity 
during  the  early  period  of  its  dogmatic  evolution 
presented  for  solution,  nor  is  it  hardly  possible  that 


In    Ecclesiastical   Architecture      177 


they  should  not  have  been  deceived  in  any  in- 
vestigations they  undertook,  or  in  any  conclusions 
they  reached  concerning  the  authenticity  of  the 
events  recorded  in  the  gospels  and  other  scriptures 
of  the  New  Testament,  and  the  genuineness  of  these 
records.  Under  such  circumstances  it  is  not  sur- 
prising that  our  sacred  canon  should  begin  with 
an  astrological  legend  related  as  an  historical  fact 
in  connection  with  the  birth  of  Jesus,  and  end  with 
a  wild  and  weird  apocalyptic  vision,  giving  an 
autoptic  description  of  the  Last  Judgment  and  the 
glories  of  the  heavenly  Jerusalem.  In  the  same 
mental  category  to-day  are  the  men  and  women 
who  receive  the  Book  of  Mormon  as  a  revelation 
from  on  high,  who  believe  in  the  immaculate  con- 
ception of  Anna  Lee,  and  accept  George  Jacob 
Schweinfurth  as  the  incarnation  of  the  Son  of  God, 
who  listen  to  the  sounds  produced  by  the  voluntary 
dislocation  of  the  toe-joints  of  two  tricksy  girls 
as  rappings  from  the  spirit-world,  and  who  put 
their  faith  in  the  healing  waters  of  the  grotto  of 
Lourdes  and  the  panacea  of  "  Christian  science  " 
as  expounded  by  Mrs.  Eddy. 


N 


CHAPTER    IV 

SYMBOLISM   SUPERSEDED   BY  SATIRE 

Excess  of  animal  symbolism  in  sacred  edifices  of  the 
eleventh  and  twelfth  centuries — Earnest  but  fruitless 
protest  of  St.  Bernard — Image-worship  authorized  and  en- 
joined by  the  Council  held  at  Nice  in  787 — Images  not  to 
be  inventions  of  artists,  but  to  be  fashioned  according  to 
ecclesiastical  traditions  and  ecclesiological  prescriptions — 
Views  of  St.  Nilus — Paintings  and  sculptures  for  the 
instruction  of  the  ignorant — Gautier  de  Coinsi  renews  the 
protest  against  "  wild  cats  and  lions "  in  the  house  of 
God — Angelus  Rumpler  makes  the  same  complaint — 
Warnings  by  the  Councils  of  Milan  and  Bordeaux — In- 
troductions of  episodes  from  the  beast-epos  with  satirical 
tendencies — Secular  guilds  supplant  religious  orders  as 
architects — Caricature  of  sacred  rites — Fox  preaching 
to  geese  in  St.  Martin's  Church  in  Leicester — Sculptures 
in  Strasburg  Minster — Reliefs  of  the  wolfs  novitiate  in 
Freiburg  Minster — Poem  by  Marie  de  France — Sam- 
son and  the  lion — Provost's  cushion  in  St.  Michael's 
at  Pforzheim — Burlesque  of  Calvin  in  St.  Sernin  at 
Toulouse — Luther  satirized  in  St.  Victor's  Church  at 
Xanten — Foolscap  paper — Origin  and  character  of  the 
Papstesel — Monstrosities  as  portents — Bishop-fish — The 
Papal  Ass  in  religious  polemics — The  Monk-calf  of 
Freiburg  and  its  interpretation — Miniatures  illustrating 
the  "  Woes  of  France  " — The  fox  of  the  Physiologies  and 
of  the  beast-epos — Reliefs  of  the  wiles  of  the  fox  and  the 
woes  of  drunkenness  in  St.  Fiacre — Execution  of  the  cat 
in  the  cathedral  at  Tarragona — Significance  of  the  crane 
extracting  a  bone  from  the  fox's  throat  in  Autun  Cathe- 
dral— Burrowing  foxes  types  of  devils  in  Worcester 
17S 


Animal    Symbolism  179 

Cathedral — Scenes  from  the  Reynardine  and  other  poems 
in  the  church  of  the  Templars,  St.  Denis,  Amiens  Cathe- 
dral, Sherborne  Minster,  and  other  sacred  edifices,  but 
most  fully  represented  in  Bristol  Cathedral  and  Beverly 
Minster — Heraldic  rebuses  and  canting  devices — Satire 
on  the  election  of  a  pope  in  Lincoln  Cathedral — Mendi- 
cant friars  caricatured  as  foxes  in  Ely,  Gloucester, 
Winchester,  and  other  cathedrals — Odo  of  Sherington's 
opinion  of  these  orders — Similar  delineations  in  the 
churches  and  cloisters  of  continental  Europe  :  Kempen, 
Emmerick,  Calcar,  and  Cleves — The  Lay  of  Aristotle 
and  Vergil's  affair  of  gallantry — The  Vision  of  Piers 
Plowman  —  Animals  as  musicians  —  Grotesques,  bur- 
lesques, and  riddles^ — Funeral  banquet  at  the  burial  of  the 
fox  at  Marienhafen — The  frog  as  a  symbol  of  regenera- 
tion— Carvings  of  individual  fancies  and  conceits  and 
illustrations  of  proverbs — Episodes  from  the  Roman  de 
Renart — Many  of  these  sculptures,  especially  in  Northern 
France  and  the  Netherlands,  destroyed  by  iconoclasts 
and  revolutionists. 

It  was  in  the  eleventh  and  especially  in  the  twelfth 
century  that  symbolical  animals  played  a  most 
conspicuous  and  very  peculiar  part  in  the  ornamen- 
tation of  church  furniture  and  in  ecclesiastical 
architecture.  Lamps,  censers,  pyxes,  aspergills, 
chrismatories,  reliquaries,  and  sacramental  vessels 
were  wrought  in  the  form  of  griffins,  ostriches, 
pelicans,  cranes,  dolphins,  doves,  dragons,  lions,  or 
some  other  real  or  fabulous  creature,  or  had  these 
animals  carved  on  them.  It  was  deemed  a  hard 
hit  at  the  devil,  and  a  masterly  stroke  of  pious  policy, 
to  press  beasts  of  evil  omen  and  Satanic  significance 
into  the  service  of  the  Church,  and  force  them  to 
assist  at  the  celebration  of  holy  offices.  They  were 
therefore  embroidered  on  sacerdotal  vestments  and 
sculptured   in    the   chancel   and   the   chapels   and 


1 80  Animal    Symbolism 

around  the  altars  of  the  sanctuary,  where  religious 
rites  were  usually  performed.  Later,  towards  the 
close  of  the  twelfth  century,  they  began  to  take 
possession  of  the  windows,  portals,  arches,  and 
pinnacles,  and  finally  extended  to  the  whole  exterior 
of  the  edifice,  no  part  of  which  was  safe  from  their 
encroachments.  It  was  especially  in  cloisters  that 
these  beasts  ran  riot,  but  not  without  provoking  the 
indignation  and  opposition  of  many  ecclesiastics. 

One  of  the  earliest  of  these  protests  was  that  of 
St.  Bernard  of  Clairvaux,  who  about  the  year  1125 
wrote  a  letter  on  the  subject  to  William,  Abbot  of 
St.  Thierry,  sharply  censuring  what  he  regarded  as 
a  profanation  of  sacred  places.  "  What  business," 
he  exclaims,  "  have  those  ridiculous  monstrosities, 
those  creatures  of  wonderfully  deformed  beauty 
and  beautiful  deformity,  before  the  eyes  of  studious 
friars  in  the  courts  of  cloisters  ?  What  mean  those 
filthy  apes,  those  fierce  lions,  those  monstrous 
centaurs,  those  half-men,  those  spotted  tigers,  those 
fighting  soldiers  and  horn-blowing  hunters  ?  Thou 
seest  many  bodies  under  one  head,  and  again  many 
heads  on  one  body.  Here  is  a  serpent's  tail  at- 
tached to  a  quadruped,  there  a  quadruped's  head 
on  a  fish.  There  a  beast  presents  the  fore-parts  of 
a  horse  and  drags  after  it  the  rear  of  a  goat ;  here 
a  horned  animal  has  the  hind  parts  of  a  horse.  In 
short,  there  is  seen  everywhere  such  a  marvellous 
diversity  of  forms,  that  one  reads  with  more 
pleasure  what  is  carved  in  stones  than  what  is 
written  in  books,  and  would  rather  gaze  all  day 


In    Ecclesiastical   Architecture      1 8 1 

upon  these  singular  creations  than  to  meditate  on 
the  divine  word.  O  God  !  if  one  is  not  ashamed  of 
these  puerilities,  why  does  one  not  at  least  spare 
the  expense  ? " 

That  the  famous  "  doctor  mellifluus  "  should  have 
been  ignorant  of  the  meaning  of  the  artistic  repre- 
sentations he  condemns  is  scarcely  credible ;  natur- 
ally enough,  however,  the  coarse  symbolism  which 
they  sought  to  express  could  hardly  fail  of  being 
offensive  to  the  refined  and  subtile  mysticism  of  the 
saintly  Cistercian,  who  rejected  the  dogma  of  the 
Immaculate  Conception  of  the  Virgin  Mary  as  a  too 
gross  and  sensual  suggestion  and  emblematic  ex- 
pression of  her  spiritual  purity.  He  was  indignant 
that  the  Christian  mysteries  should  be  degraded 
and  vulgarized  by  being  clothed  in  what  he  deemed 
the  foul  and  tattered  vesture  of  pagan  allegory. 
This  attitude  was  perfectly  consistent  with  his 
character  as  a  reformer  of  the  Church,  and  especially 
of  the  cloisters,  and  a  zealous  promoter  of  stricter 
monastic  discipline.  As  ecclesiastical  architecture 
was  at  that  time  still  in  the  hands  of  the  religious 
orders  and  the  secular  clergy,  he  held  them  re- 
sponsible for  these  exhibitions,  which  he  regarded 
as  an  evidence  of  their  frivolity  and  dissoluteness. 

Suger,  the  celebrated  abbot  of  St.  Denis  and 
minister  of  state  of  Louis  VII.,  was  less  fastidious 
and  austere  than  St.  Bernard,  and  in  rebuilding 
the  famous  Benedictine  abbey  in  1144  did  not 
hesitate  to  have  the  stained  windows  adorned 
with   symbolical    animals,    which    he    appears    to 


1 82  Animal    Symbolism 

have  prized   both   as  decorations   and   sources   of 
edification. 

The  seventh  CEcumenical  Council,  which  was 
held  at  Nice  in  787,  and  which  authorized  icon- 
olatry  and  enjoined  this  cult  as  a  religious  duty 
upon  believers,  decided  that  the  images  were  not 
to  be  the  invention  of  the  artist,  but  were  to  be 
fashioned  according  to  the  traditions  and  prescrip- 
tions of  the  Catholic  Church.  The  artist  was  not 
permitted  to  follow  his  own  fancies  or  to  work 
out  his  own  devices,  but  his  sole  function  was  to 
execute  the  intentions  and  embody  the  ideas  and 
suggestions  of  the  official  ecclesiologists  as  derived 
from  the  writings  of  the  Fathers :  "  Non  est  imagi- 
num  structura  pictorum  inventio,  sed  ecclesise  catho- 
licae  probata  legislatio  atque  traditio."  In  the  fifth 
century  St.  Nilus  wrote  to  Olympiodorus  :  "  You 
ask  me  whether  it  is  proper  to  burden  the  walls 
of  the  sanctuary  with  representations  of  divers 
animals,  hares,  goats,  and  other  beasts  seeking 
safety  in  flight  from  the  snares  which  cover  the 
ground,  and  from  the  hunters,  who  with  their 
dogs  are  eagerly  pursuing  them.  Elsewhere,  on 
the  shore,  we  see  all  sorts  of  fish  gathered  by 
fishermen.  I  reply  that  it  is  puerile  to  amuse  the 
eyes  of  the  faithful  in  this  manner."  ^ 

Evidently  the  censorious  saint  did  not  take  the 
symbolical  significance  of  such  pictures  into  con- 
sideration, but  looked  upon  them  as  purely  orna- 

^  Maxima  Bibliotheca  Palrum,  xxvii.  325. 


In    Ecclesiastical   Architecture      183 

mental  and  designed  to  please  the  eye.  As  a 
matter  of  fact,  there  was  a  large  class  of  persons 
in  the  early  and  mediaeval  Church  who  relied  upon 
such  paintings  and  sculptures  for  their  religious 
instruction  and  edification,  like  the  old  woman  into 
whose  mouth  Francois  Villon  puts  these  words — 

"  Femme  je  suis,  pauverette  et  ancienne, 
Qui  riens  ne  s^ay,  onques  lettres  ne  leuz, 
Au  moustier  voy,  dont  je  suis  paroissienne, 
Paradis  painct  ou  sont  harpes  et  luz 
Et  un  enfer  ou  dampnes  sont  boulluz, 
Lung  me  fait  pour,  I'autre  joye  et  liesse." 

Symbolical  representations  of  beasts  and  other 
delineations  of  this  kind,  however  grotesque,  are 
the  records  of  human  thoughts  and  beliefs  in 
certain  stages  of  civilization,  and  deserve  to  be 
deciphered  with  as  much  care  as  Runic  signs  or 
hieroglyphic  and  cuneiform  inscriptions. 

A  hundred  years  after  St.  Bernard,  Gautier  de 
Coinsi,  Prior  of  Vie  sur  Aisne,  found  it  necessary 
again  to  censure  the  clergy  for  permitting  "wild 
cats  and  lions "  to  rank  with  saints  in  the  house 
of  God,  and  for  preferring  to  adorn  their  chambers 
with  the  lewd  exploits  of  Isegrim  and  his  spouse 
rather  than  to  decorate  the  minsters  with  the 
miracles  of  the  Virgin — 

"  En  leur  moustiers  ne  font  pas  faire 
Sitost  I'image  Nostre  Dame, 
Com  font  Isangrin  et  sa  fame 
En  leurs  chambres  ou  ils  reponnent." 

Again,  in  the  beginning  of  the  sixteenth  century 
the  pious  abbot  of  Formbach,  Angelus  Rumpler, 


1 84  Animal    Symbolism 


renewed  St.  Bernard's  query  as  to  the  purpose  and 
fitness  of  putting  lions,  dragons,  and  the  like  in 
the  churches,  which  ought,  he  says,  to  be  simpl}- 
and  suitably  adorned,  and  not  so  conspicuously  as 
to  furnish  occasion  for  gazing  instead  of  praying. 
"  Not  that  I  censure  proper  ornament,"  he  adds, 
"  but  only  what  is  fantastical  and  superfluous.  For 
pictures  are  the  books  of  the  laity  or  unlearned ; 
but  by  pictures  I  mean  such  as  portray  the 
Passion  of  Christ  and  the  sufferings  of  the  saints." 
He  wishes  to  have  representations  that  will  incite 
to  devotion,  and  not  merely  gratify  curiosity  or 
engender  evil  propensities.  What  he  expressl}" 
reprehends  are  scenes  which  a  young  girl  cannot 
look  at  without  having  her  mind  corrupted  and 
lascivious  desires  excited  in  her  heart;  and  the 
manner  in  which  he  refers  to  them  proves  that 
they  must  have  existed  in  places  of  worship. 
What  we  should  expend  for  the  relief  of  the  poor, 
he  concludes,  we  squander  on  sumptuous  and 
needless  edifices ;  but  enough  of  this :  sed  dc  Jiac 
re  hactemis. 

The  first  Council  of  Milan  in  1565  warned  the 
bishops  not  to  permit  in  the  churches  any  paint- 
ings or  sculptures  opposed  to  the  truth  of  Scripture, 
or  of  tradition  or  ecclesiastical  history :  "  Caveant 
episcopi,  ne  quid  pingatur  aut  sculpatur,  quod 
veritati  scriptuarum,  traditionum  aut  ecclesiasti- 
carum  historiarum  adversetur."  Twenty  years  later 
(1585)  the  Council  of  Bordeaux  forbade  preachers 
to  introduce  fables   into  their  sermons,  and  thus 


In    Ecclesiastical    Architecture      185 

move  their  hearers  to  laughter,  instead  of  drawing 
tears  of  contrition  from  their  eyes,  as  they  ought 
to  do  :  "  Concionatoris  enim  est,  non  risum  movere, 
sed  lacrymas  auditoribus  excutere." 

The  symbolical  meaning  which  Clemens  Alexan- 
drinus,  Augustine,  Origen,  Chrysostom,  Epiphanius, 
Jerome,  Bonaventura,  Ambrosius,  Isidorus,  and 
other  great  interpreters  of  Holy  Writ  had  dis- 
covered in  these  real  or  fabulous  creatures  was 
now  forgotten  or  discarded.  The  gross  and  beastly 
types  had  been  superseded  by  the  finer  mysticism 
of  expositors  like  the  abbot  of  Clairvaux,  whose 
aesthetic  sense  as  well  as  religious  feeling  was  deeply 
offended  by  these  crude  and  whimsical  illustrations 
of  spiritual  truths. 

Meanwhile  other  fables,  derived  partly  from 
hagiological  sources  and  partly  from  old  Germanic 
sagas  and  the  marvels  related  of  foreign  lands  by 
mediaeval  travellers,  had  become  gradually  mixed 
up  with  the  Physiologiis^  and  under  its  shelter  and 
sanction  as  a  precedent  succeeded  in  creeping  into 
holy  places.  Scenes  from  the  beast-epos,  espe- 
cially the  adventures  of  the  fox  and  the  wolf, 
carved  on  wood,  cut  in  stone,  painted  in  fresco, 
or  more  frequently  pictured  in  glass,  began  to 
make  themselves  conspicuous  on  the  stalls  of  the 
chancel,  and  on  the  pulpits  and  portals  and  stained 
windows  of  cathedrals.  At  first  they  were  de- 
signed to  enforce  moral  precepts  and  to  illustrate 
ethical  principles,  but  in  seeking  these  ends  they 
found  it  necessary  to  satirize  the  vices  of  the  clergy^ 


1 86  Animal    Symbolism 

and  to  censure  with  deserved  severity  the  greed 
and  gluttony  and  general  dissoluteness  of  the 
monastic  orders. 

During  the  thirteenth  and  fourteenth  centuries 
the  religious  fraternities  were  in  a  great  degree 
supplanted  as  builders  by  associations  of  secular 
architects,  and,  as  the  influence  of  the  laity  became 
predominant  in  church  ornamentation,  and  the 
spirit  which  resulted  in  the  Reformation  grew 
bolder  and  more  aggressive,  this  satirical  tendency 
increased,  and  did  not  confine  itself  to  the  expo- 
sure of  religious  hypocrisy  and  pseudo-sanctity, 
but  soon  delighted  in  ridiculing  and  caricaturing 
sacramental  rites  and  sacred  observances.  Apes 
in  choristers'  robes,  swine  in  monks'  hoods,  asses 
in  cowls  chanting  and  playing  the  organ,  sirens  in 
the  costume  of  nuns  with  their  faces  carefully 
veiled  and  the  rest  of  their  persons  exposed,  stags 
in  chasubles  ministering  at  the  altar,  and  wolves 
in  the  confessional  giving  absolution  to  lambs, 
were  some  of  the  means  employed  to  burlesque 
the  principal  ceremonies  and  fundamental  institu- 
tions of  the  Church,  and  to  turn  them  into  ridicule. 
On  one  of  the  painted  windows  of  St.  Martin's 
Church,  in  Leicester,  was  the  picture  of  a  fox  in 
surplice  preaching  to  a  flock  of  geese  from  the 
text :  "  Testis  est  mihi  Deus  quam  cupiam  vos 
omnes  visceribus  meis  "  ("  God  is  my  witness  how 
I  long  for  you  all  in  my  bowels ").  One  of  the 
wood-carvings  in  Ely  Cathedral  represents  the  fox 
arrayed  in  episcopal  robes,  with  almuce  and  stole 


In    Ecclesiastical   Architecture      187 

and  crosier,  discoursing  to  a  similar  audience  from 
the  same  passage  of  Scripture ;  in  the  next  scene 
he  has  made  a  practical  application  of  the  text  by 
throwing  off  his  holy  vestments  and  hurrying  away 
with  a  goose,  pursued  by  an  old  woman  with  a 
distaff.^  Here  we  have  not  merely  an  exposure  of 
the  begging  friars,  but  a  hard  hit  at  the  highest 
dignitaries  of  the  Church. 

The  obscenity  of  many  of  these  delineations 
resulted  naturally  and  inevitably  from  the  fact 
that  they  satirized  obscene  things.  Thus  the 
abbot  Grandidier,  in  describing  the  grotesque 
figures  sculptured  on  the  pulpit  staircase  in  Stras- 
burg  Minster,  says :  "  On  y  remarquait  entr'  autres 
celle  d'un  moine  couche  au  dessous  et  aux  pieds 
d'une  beguine,  dont  il  soulevait  les  juppes."  This 
pulpit  was  constructed  in  i486  under  the  super- 
vision of  the  famous  preacher,  Johannes  Geiler 
von  Kaisersberg,  in  whose  sermons  the  licentious- 
ness of  the  monks  and  particularly  the  unchastity 
of  the  vagabond  beguines  were  severely  scourged. 
Indeed,  beguinage  came  to  be  synonymous  with 
spurious  piety  or  lust  in  the  disguise  of  sanctity. 
But  however  coarsely  such  scenes  may  have  been 
depicted,  they  originated  in  a  high  moral  purpose, 
and  had  a  pure  aim,  which,  as  the  old  plattdeutsch 
poet  Lauremberg,  in  his  ScJiertzgedichte,  says  of 
the  hidden  wisdom  in  Reincke  Vos,  shone  forth 
like  a  glowing  coal  in  the  ashes,  or  a  gold  penny  in 
a  greasy  pocket — 

'  Herrig's  Archive  Iviii.  255. 


1 88  Animal    Symbolism 

"  Glyck  als  dat  Fiiln-  schulet  in  der  Asche, 
Un  giildne  Penninge  in  eener  schmierigen  Tasche." 

With  the  progress  of  the  Reformation  these 
representations  were  drawn  into  the  great  religious 
movement  and  put  to  polemical  uses,  and  proved 
to  be  more  effective  in  influencing  the  mass  of 
public  opinion  than  any  doctrinal  discussion.  Thus 
Fischart  published  woodcuts  of  the  sculptures  near 
the  choir  of  Strasburg  Minster  with  explanatory 
doggerels,  in  which  he  interpreted  them  as  an 
allegorical  derision  of  the  Romish  clergy ;  and  this 
view  seems  to  have  been  accepted  by  the  Catholics 
themselves,  although  a  zealous  Protestant,  Oscar 
Schad,  in  his  description  of  the  cathedral,  printed 
in  1 617,  vents  his  indignation  against  the  Fran- 
ciscan, Friedrich  Johann  Nass,  who,  he  says,  "had 
the  effrontery  to  thrust  his  nose  into  this  matter, 
beslavering  with  his  venom  the  sound  expositions 
of  Fischart,  and  absurdly  affirming  these  beasts  to 
be  types  of  pious  and  faithful  evangelical  preachers 
and  godly  servants  of  the  Word."  As  these  sculp- 
tures date  from  the  end  of  the  thirteenth  century, 
and  are  therefore  much  older  than  Protestantism, 
which  dates  from  the  Diet  held  by  the  evangelical 
estates  at  Spire,  in  1529,  the  interpretation  of  them 
given  by  Nass  is  grossly  anachronistic.  Besides, 
they  caricature,  not  a  Protestant,  but  a  Catholic 
rite,  namely,  the  burial  of  the  fox,  as  prescribed  by 
the  Romish  ceremonial.  First  comes  the  bear 
with  an  aspergill  and  a  vessel  of  holy  water ;  the 
wolf  carries  a  crucifix,  and  the  hare  holds  a  burning 


In    Ecclesiastical    Architecture      189 

taper;  the  bier,  on  which  Hes  the  fox  simulating 
death  and  plotting  revenge,  is  borne  by  a  sow  and 
a  he-goat.  An  ape  is  seated  on  the  ground  near 
the  bier,  apparently  as  spectator.  A  stag  is  chant- 
ing the  office  at  an  altar,  while  a  cat  serves  as 
lectern  to  support  the  epistles,  which  are  read  by 
an  ass.     At  the  feet  of  the  bear  is  a  globe  v/ith  a 


Burial  of  the  Fox.     {Choir  of  Strashirg  Minster.) 

cross  on  it  forming  a  reichsapfel  or  tut,  and  indi- 
cating, perhaps,  that  the  officiating  priests  are  Car- 
thusians, since  the  tut  was  the  badge  of  their  order 
(Herrig's  Archiv,  Ixvi.  269-70).  It  is  possible,  how- 
ever, that  the  cross  is  intended  to  indicate  a  grave 
in  the  cemetery,  to  which  the  fox  is  being  borne. 

The  fact  that  the  chapter  of  the  cathedral  caused 
these  sculptures  to  be  chiseled  off  in  1685  is  a  con- 
fession that  they  were  thought  to  be  directed,  or 
might,  at  least,  be  easily  turned,  against  the  papal 
hierarchy.  Also  a  Lutheran  bookseller,  who  kept 
woodcuts  of  them  on  sale,  was  condemned  to  stand 
in  his  shirt  and  do  penance  for  his  offence  in  front 
of  the  minster,  and  was  then  banished  from  the  city. 

Again,  in  Freiburg  Minster  (Breisgau),  in  a  nar- 
row passage  leading  from  the  south  transept  to 
the  choir,  are  reliefs  belonging  to  the  first  half  of 


190 


Animal    Symbolism 


the  twelfth  century,  and  representing  the  wolfs 
novitiate.  The  lupine  candidate  for  a  cloistral  life 
or  for  the  clerical  office  is  learning  his  letters  from 
a  monk,  who  is  seated  on  a  faldstool  with  a  peda- 
gogue's baton  consisting  of  a  bundle  of  rods  in  his 
hand.  The  dull  pupil,  who  holds  a  pointer  awk- 
wardly in  his  right  paw,  has  already  reached  the 
third  letter  of  the  alphabet  in  his  pursuit  of  know- 
ledge, when  the  longing  for  lamb  gets  the  better  of 
his  love  of  learning,  and  he  seizes  a  sheep  of  the 


Novitiate  of  the  Wolf.    {Freiburg  Minster.) 

pastoral  flock  and  endeavours  to  devour  it.  The 
tonsured  teacher  applies  the  rod  vigorously  to  the 
back  of  the  recreant  novice,  whose  natural  appetites 
assert  themselves  and  are  not  to  be  extinguished  by 
the  capoch.  These  works  of  art  delineate  episodes 
of  the  beast-epos,  and  correspond  to  the  description 
given  by  Marie  de  France  of  the  wolfs  attempt  to 
become  a  monk,  being  drawn  to  this  pious  vocation 
by  merry  thoughts  of  fat  living.  Her  poem  might 
be  rendered  into  English  as  follows — 


In    Ecclesiastical   Architecture      191 

"  There  was  once  a  priest  who  wished  to  see 
If  he  could  teach  the  wolf  his  ABC. 
'  A,'  said  the  priest  ;  the  wolf  said  '  A,' 
And  grinned  in  a  grim  and  guileful  way. 
'  B,'  said  the  priest,  'and  say  it  with  me.' 
'  B,'  said  the  wolf,  '  the  letter  I  see.' 
'  C,'  said  the  priest,  '  keep  on  just  so.' 
'C,'  said  the  wolf.     '  Don't  be  so  slow,' 
Remarked  the  priest  ;  '  come,  go  on  now.' 
And  the  wolf  replied  :  '  I  don't  know  ho\\-.' 
'  Then  see  how  it  looks  and  spell  it  out.' 
'  Lamb,  lamb,  it  means  without  a  doubt.' 
'  Beware,'  said  the  priest,  '  or  you'll  get  a  blow, 
For  your  mouth  with  your  thoughts  doth  overflow.' 
And  thus  it  haps  ofttimes  to  each, 
That  his  secret  thought  is  by  his  speech 
Revealed,  and,  ere  he  is  aware. 
Is  out  of  his  lips  and  in  the  air."  * 

Near  the  wolf  seizing  the  lamb  is  Samson  in  the 
act  of  tearing  open  the  jaws  of  a  lion.     The  long 

1  "  Fable  80. — Uun  prestre  et  d'ttn  Ion. 

"  Une  prestres  volt  jadis  aprendre 
I  lou  a  letres  fere  entendre. 
A  dist  li  prestres. — A  dist  li  leus 
Qui  mult  est  fel  et  engingneux. 
B  dist  li  prestres,  di  o  moi. 
B  dist  li  leux,  la  letre  voi. 
C  dist  li  prestres,  di  avant. 
C  dist  li  leus.     Ail  dont  tant, 
Respont  li  prestres,  or  di  par  toi. 
Li  leu  respont  :  je  ne  sai  coi. 
Di  que  te  semble,  si  espel. 
Respont  li  leus  :  Aignel,  aignel. 
Li  prestres  dist  :  que  verte  touche ; 
Tel  on  penser,  tel  en  la  bouche. 
De  pensons,  le  voit  I'en  souvent; 
Ce  dont  il  pensent  durement. 
Est  par  la  bouche  conneu. 
Aingois  que  d'autre  soit  seu. 
La  bouche  monstre  le  penser; 
Tout  doit  ele  de  li  parler." 


192  Animal    Symbolism 

hair  of  the  Hebrew  solar  hero,  which  in  the  myth 
is  said  to  be  the  source  of  his  strength,  as  the  force 
of  the  sun  is  in  its  rays,  has  caused  this  figure  to 
be  mistaken  for  a  woman,  and  interpreted  as  a 
symbol  of  spiritual  power  overcoming  brute  force. 
A  similar  sculpture  adorns  a  console  in  the  Stifts- 
kirche  at  Stuttgart,  a  capital  in  the  church  of 
Remagen  in  the  Rhineland,  and  the  outside  of  the 
apsis  of  the  old  Romanic  church  at  Schongrabern 
in  Lower  Austria.  Here  Samson  wears  his  hair  in 
a  long  braid.  It  may  be  found  also  on  the  portal 
of  the  cathedral  of  St.  Stephen's  in  Vienna,  on  an 
altar  in  the  monastery  Klosterneuberg,  on  a  stall 
in  the  cathedral  of  Amiens,  and  on  the  capital  of 
a  column  in  the  church  of  St.  Sauveur-de-Nevres, 
where  it  bears  the  inscription :  "  Samson  adest, 
heros  fortis."  Indeed,  it  is  very  common  in 
mediaeval  church  edifices  and  on  consecrated 
vessels,  and  is  sometimes  associated  with  repre- 
sentations of  Christ's  deliverance  of  the  captive 
spirits  from  hell,  as  in  a  painting  in  the  vestibule 
of  Freiburg  Minster.  Another  sculpture  in  this 
minster  shows  a  man  contending  against  a  grifiin, 
which  signifies  the  effort  to  overcome  carnal 
passion.  So,  too,  the  centaur,  which  will  be  more 
fully  considered  hereafter,  is  the  symbol  of  what 
Paul  calls  the  natural  man,  or  homo  animal,  as  it  is 
rendered  in  the  Vulgate. 

Flogel  {Gescliichte  dcr  komischen  Literatur,  iii. 
358)  mentions  a  beautifully-embroidered  cushion 
of  ;^the  provost's  chair  in  the  collegiate  church  of 


In  Ecclesiastical  Architecture      193 

St.  Michael  at  Pforzheim.  The  embroidery  repre- 
sents a  wolf  in  monastic  garb  standing  in  a  pulpit 
and  discoursing  from  an  open  book  to  a  flock  of 
geese,  which  are  devoutly  listening  and  holding 
each  a  rosary  in  its  beak.  The  sacristan,  who  per- 
forms the  duties  of  goose-herd,  is  dressed  in  motley. 
Out  of  the  hood  of  the  preacher  projects  the  head 
of  a  goose.  A  fox  is  lying  in  wait  under  the  pulpit, 
and  round  the  wolf  is  embroidered  the  verse — 

"  Ich  will  euch  wohl  viel  Fabeln  sagen, 
Bis  ich  fiihle  alln  ^  mein  Kragen.'' 

"  Of  fables  to  you  I'll  tell  a  deal, 
Till  in  my  maw  I  all  may  feel." 

This  cushion  was  purchased  in  1 540  by  Jacob  Heer- 
brand,  Chancellor  of  the  University  of  Tiibingen, 
when  he  was  sent  with  other  theologians  to  promote 
the  cause  of  the  Reformation  in  the  Margravate 
of  Baden-Durlach,  and  was  used  by  him  against 
the  papacy  in  his  polemical  treatise,  Refutatio 
defensionis  assert iomi in  Jesu iticarum. 

In  this  manner  the  whole  beast-epos  was  diverted 
from  its  original  course,  as  a  purely  narrative  poem, 
into  the  turbulent  and  more  or  less  filthy  channel 
of  religious  controversy.  Thus  a  zealous  champion 
of  Protestantism,  John  Bale,  published  at  Zurich 
in  1542,  under  the  pseudonym  of  John  Harryson, 
a  book  entitled  :  "  Yet  a  Course  at  the  Romysche 
foxe,  a  dysclosynge  or  openynge  of  the  Manne  of 
Synne."     Catholic  defenders  of  the  faith,  too,  were 

^  Alln  =  alle  in.     The  sense  is  the  same  whether  we  read 
Kragen  (craw)  or  Ma^en  (maw). 

O 


194  Animal    Symbolism 

not  slow  in  filling  their  quivers  with  arrows  drawn 
from  the  same  exhaustless  source.  Not  only  the 
printing-press,  but  also  the  walls  and  other  parts 
of  sacred  edifices  were  put  to  polemical  purposes, 
as,  for  example,  in  the  chancel  of  St.  Sernin  at 
Toulouse,  where  a  fat  hog  in  gown  and  bands  dis- 
coursing from  a  pulpit  is  styled  Calvin  le  pore 
preschant  ("  Calvin  the  pig  preaching  ").  This  is  the 
interpretation  given  to  the  carving  and  its  legend 
by  M.  de  Montalembert ;  but  the  clerical  animal 
is  not  cloven-hoofed,  and  resembles  an  ass  rather 
than  a  pig,  and  the  inscription  may  read  Calvin 
le  pere,  since  a  nail  driven  into  the  second  letter 
of  the  third  word  has  so  defaced  it  as  to  render  it 
difficult  to  decipher.  This  work  of  art  may,  there- 
fore, portray  "  Father  Calvin "  in  the  form  of  an 
ass  preaching  heresies  to  his  deluded  disciples,  one 
of  whom  is  kneeling  before  the  sacred  desk  with 
eyes  devout  and  the  palm  of  his  hand  on  an  open 
book,  as  if  appealing  to  Holy  Writ  in  confirmation 
of  the  doctrines  proclaimed  from  the  sacred  desk. 
In  St.  Victor's  Church  at  Xanten  on  the  Rhine  is 
an  Eece  Homo,  dating  from  1536,  representing 
Christ  followed  by  a  great  rabble  crying,  "  Crucify 
Him ! "  The  leader  of  this  bloodthirsty  mob  is 
Martin  Luther,  who  wears  a  pilgrim's  scrip,  on 
which  the  head  of  a  beast  of  prey  takes  the  place 
of  the  conventional  cross  and  shell.  Near  him  is 
a  man  making  grimaces  by  thrusting  his  finger  into 
his  cheek,  while  another  is  throwing  filth. 

The  reformers  of  the  sixteenth  century  indulged 


In  Ecclesiastical  Architecture      195 

very  freely  in  coarse  caricatures  of  this  sort,  and 
often  outdid  their  adversaries  in  such  expressions 
of  scorn.  Thus  Henry  VIII.  showed  his  contempt 
of  the  Roman  See  by  using  for  official  purposes  a 
paper  with  the  water-mark  of  a  hog  wearing  a 
tiara,  just  as  the  Republican  parliament  substituted 
a  fool's  cap  and  bells  for  the  King's  arms  on  the 
official  paper  of  the  realm ;  hence  the  name  which 
the  large  folio  paper  used  in  law-offices  and  courts 
of  justice  still  bears. 

One  of  the  most  noted  of  this  class  of  productions 
was  the  so-called  Papstesel,  or  Papal  Ass.  This 
monster  has  the  form  of  a  woman  with  the  head 
of  an  ass ;  the  left  hand  is  that  of  a  human  being, 
the  right  hand  is  an  elephant's  trunk,  the  rump  is 
the  mask-like  face  of  a  man  with  long  beard  and 
horns,  and  a  serpentine  neck  ending  in  a  dragon's 
head  ;  one  of  the  feet  is  an  eagle's  claw,  and  the 
other  an  ox's  hoof,  and  the  body  is  covered  with 
scales  like  a  fish. 

This  drawing  has  been  commonly,  but  erroneously, 
attributed  to  the  elder  Lucas  Cranach,  who  may 
have  copied,  but  certainly  did  not  create  it.  It  is 
also  a  mistake  to  suppose  that  it  was  intended 
originally  to  ridicule  the  papacy.  In  December 
1445  the  city  of  Rome  was  devastated  by  an  in- 
undation of  the  Tiber,  followed  by  famine  and 
pestilence.  After  the  waters  had  subsided,  this 
strange  carcass  is  said  to  have  been  found  in  the 
deposit  of  the  flood  on  the  banks  of  the  river, 
and  a  full  description  of  it  is  given  in  Malipiero's 


Animal    Symbolism 


Venetian  annals.^  No  contemporary  writer  seems 
to  have  entertained  the  slightest  doubt  that  the 
remains  of  such  an  abnormal  creature  were  actually- 
discovered  ;  the  only  difference  of  opinion  that 
could  possibly  arise  would  be  in  regard  to  its  origin 
and  significance,  whether  it  was  a  work  of  God  or 
of  Satan,  and  what  it  might  forebode. 

In  the  middle  ages  monstrosities  and  freaks  of 
nature  were  looked  upon  as  dire  portents,  and 
every  marvellous  phenomenon  was  deemed  a  sure 
sign  of  the  impending  wrath  of  God.  Not  only 
comets,  eclipses,  and  other  remarkable  appearances 
in  the  sky,  but  even  any  uncommon  occurrence  on 
the  earth,  such  as  a  fall  of  red  snow,  sufficed  to  fill 
the  hearts  of  men  with  chilling  fear,  and  to  freeze 
the  blood  in  their  veins ;  and  the  birth  of  a  double- 
headed  calf  or  a  deformed  pig  was  a  source  of 
terror  to  whole  nations.  The  intellectual  awaken- 
ing, known  as  the  revival  of  letters,  tended  to 
confirm  rather  than  to  undermine  the  belief  in  the 
existence  of  monstrosities,  inasmuch  as  it  cultivated 
and  diffused  a  literature  all  alive  with  centaurs, 
fauns,  satyrs,  hippocamps,  tritons,  sirens,  nereids, 
sphinxes,  griffins,  dragons,  minotaurs,  and  chimeras, 
the  reality  of  which  no  true  humanist  would  think 

1  Archivo  Storico,  vii.  422.  Cf.  Der  Papstesel,  ein  Beitrag 
sur  Kultur-  unci  Kunstgeschichte  des  Re/ormationszeif alters, 
von  Konrad  Lange,  Gottingen,  1891.  This  monograph  con- 
tains the  most  thorough  discussion  of  the  subject  hitherto 
published,  including  a  clear  and  consistent  account  of  the 
origin  and  character  of  this  monstrous  figment  of  the 
imagination,  and  the  symbolical  and  satirical  purposes 
which  it  was  made  to  subserve. 


In  Ecclesiastical  Architecture      197 

of  calling  in  question,  and  the  renascence  of  which 
soon  exerted  a  marked  influence  upon  the  decorative 
arts.  With  a  like  faith  begotten  of  enthusiasm, 
scholars  accepted  the  reports  of  Herodotus,  the 
father  of  history,  and  of  Ktesias,  the  Munchausen 
of  classical  antiquity,  concerning  goat-hoofed  and 
dog-headed  men,  one-legged  giants,  men  with  one 
eye  {iiionoculi — perhaps  a  primitive  race  of  dudes), 
men  with  eyes  in  their  breasts,  and  others  with 
their  heads  beneath  their  shoulders,  or  without  any 
heads  at  all.  It  is  not  surprising,  therefore,  that 
the  sixteenth  century,  notwithstanding  its  superior 
enlightenment  and  reputation  for  learning,  should 
have  produced  numerous  and  ponderous  tomes  de- 
voted to  the  description  and  exposition  of  marvels 
and  monstrosities.  Perhaps  the  most  exhaustive 
repertory  of  this  kind  is  the  Prodigioriim  ac 
ostentomni  ChronicoTi  of  Lycosthenes  (Wolfhart), 
published  at  Bale  in  1557.  The  author  begins 
with  the  serpent  in  Eden,  "  ante  Christum  3959," 
and  gives  a  brief  account,  with  rough  woodcuts, 
of  every  wonderful  thing  he  had  ever  heard  or 
read  of  down  to  A.D.  1557,  in  a  volume  of  six 
hundred  and  seventy  pages.  In  the  Royal  Library 
of  Munich  there  are  two  copies  of  this  work,  one 
of  which  has  a  manuscript  continuation  of  more 
than  fifty  pages,  bringing  it  down  to  1677,  with 
many  drawings  in  the  style  of  the  illustrations 
contained  in  the  printed  book.  To  this  is  added 
by  a  third  chronicler,  in  French,  the  queer  descrip- 
tion of  a  spectral  battle  between  three  armies,  said 


198 


Animal    Symbolism 


to  have  been  fought  in  the  clouds  on  February  25, 
1696,  and  witnessed  by  more  than  two  hundred 
persons.  In  accordance  with  the  current  opinion 
of  their  time,  both  Lycosthenes  and  the  author 
of  the  continuation  interpret  these  phenomena  as 
tokens  of  the  divine  anger,  and  endeavour  to 
connect  them  with  great  physical  disasters  and 
noteworthy  historical  events. 

Shakespeare  indicates  the  fascination  which  such 
vulgar  superstitions  and  tales  of  prodigies  had  for 
the  most  refined  and  sensitive  persons  of  an  earlier 
day,  when  he  makes  Othello  beguile  the  gentle 
Desdemona  of  her  tears  and  win  her  heart  by 
discoursing  about  them.  Not  only  the  outlying 
and  unexplored  regions  of  the 
earth,  but  the  sea  also  was  pro- 
lific of  wonders,  the  most  re- 
markable of  which  was  the  so- 
called  bishop-fish  {Episcopus 
marinus)  or  sea-bishop  {Meer- 
bischof),  a  specimen  of  which  is 
said  to  have  been  caught  in  the 
Baltic  in  1433.  It  had  a  mitre 
on  its  head,  a  crosier  in  its  hand, 
and  wore  a  dalmatica.  The 
king  of  Poland  wished  to  con- 
fine it  in  a  tower,  but  it  stub- 
bornly resisted  this  attempt  on 
its  freedom,  and  by  mute  ges- 
tures entreated  its  fellow-prelates, 
the   bishops   of    the   realm,    to   whom   it    showed 


Sea-bishop. 
(Gessner's  Fischbicck.) 


In  Ecclesiastical  Architecture      199 

special    reverence,    to   let   it   return   to   its    native 
element.     This  request  was  finally  granted,  and,  in 
token  of  joy  and  gratitude,  it  made  the  sign  of  the 
cross,  and  gave  the  episcopal  benediction  with  its 
fin,  as  it  disappeared  under  the  waves.    Engravings 
of  this  marine  marvel  were  published  in  Gessner's 
Fischbiich  in  1575,  in  Schott's  Physica  Curiosa,  and 
in  other  works  of  the  sixteenth  and  seventeenth 
centuries.    In  1531,  according  to  Dutch  chroniclers, 
another  bishop-fish  was  taken  in  the  German  Ocean, 
and  sent  to  the  king  of  Poland,  but  it  obstinately 
refused  to  eat  anything,  and  died  on  the  third  day 
of  its  captivity.    Gessner  describes  also  the  merman 
{Homus   marinus)   and   the   mermonk   {Monachus 
vtafinus),  said  to  have  been  taken  in  the  Baltic, 
the  British  Channel,  in  the  Red  Sea,  and  on  the 
coast  of  Dalmatia.     Evidently  we  have  here  to  do 
with  some  of  the  numerous  species  of  seals  seen 
through  the  magnifying  and  distorting  medium  of 
religious  superstition.     The  Jesuit  Gaspar  Schott, 
in  the  above-mentioned  work,  a  volume  of  nearly 
fourteen    hundred    pages,    discusses    all    sorts   of 
monsters  and  marvels  real  and  imaginary,  demons, 
spooks,  deformed  men,  energumens,  birds,  abnormi- 
ties of  land  and  sea,  and  portents  of  earth  and 
sky,  showing  the  material,  efficient,  and  final  causes 
of  such  phenomena.     All  these  strange  forms  were 
supposed  to  be  special  creations  or  manifestations 
having  a  profound  spiritual  significance,  and  bear- 
ing peculiar  relations  to  the  Church,  which  drew 
them  into  its  pale,  and  put  them  to  decorative  and 


200  Animal    Symbolism 

didactic  uses  in  ecclesiastical  architecture,  as,  for 
example,  in  the  rose-window  of  the  south  transept 
of  the  cathedral  of  Lausanne,  dating  from  the 
thirteenth  century. 

Whatever  may  have  been  the  origin  of  the 
Roman  monster,  whether  the  story  arose  from  the 
fortuitous  concurrence  of  parts  of  men  and  of 
beasts  that  had  perished  in  the  flood,  or  was  the 
trick  of  some  wag,  whose  love  of  a  joke  could  not 
be  repressed  by  the  horrors  of  the  situation,  or  was 
a  mere  invention  of  the  imagination  excited  by 
fear,  there  is  no  doubt  that  drawings  of  it  were 
made  soon  after  its  supposed  discovery.  The 
earliest  known  representation  of  it  in  art  is  a  relief 
on  the  north  door  of  the  cathedral  of  Como, 
sculptured  by  the  brothers  Jacob  and  Thomas 
Rodari  about  the  year  1497.-^  As  a  satire  on  the 
see  of  Rome  it  would  certainly  not  have  found  a 
place  in  a  Catholic  church  at  that  time ;  but  as  a 
divine  admonition  and  warning,  and  especially  as 
a  symbol  of  the  woes  of  inundation,  foreign  in- 
vasion, famine,  and  pestilence,  by  which  the  States 
of  the  Church  and  Italy  were  then  sorely  afflicted, 
such  a  carving,  however  offensive  to  the  taste  of 
the  present  day,  would  have  been  considered 
perfectly  appropriate  and  even  highly  edifying. 

If,  as   Lange   assumes,  the   strange   figure  was 


^  This  door  is  popularly  known  &s  porta  della  rana,  from 
the  carving  of  a  frog  snapping  at  an  insect.  The  frog, 
according  to  the  Physiologus,  is  a  type  of  those  who  snatch 
at  the  fleeting  pleasures  of  this  world. 


In  Ecclesiastical  Architecture     201 

simply  an  allegory  of  the  city  of  Rome,  it  would 
naturally  be  portrayed  as  a  female ;  the  ass's  head 
would  signify  subjugation  and  servitude  ;  the 
elephant's  proboscis  would  indicate  the  pest  of 
syphilis,  then  confounded  with  elephantiasis,  which 


Papal  Ass.     {Cathedral  of  Como.) 


the  Spaniards  had  introduced  into  Naples  from 
the  New  World,  and  the  French  troops  had  brought 
with  them  to  Rome  ;  the  eagle's  claw  would  repre- 
sent the  rapacity  of  Charles  VIII.;  the  ox's  hoof 
would  refer  to  Alexander  VI.,  whose  coat-of-arms 
was  an  ox,  and  who  kept  his  footing  in  the  Vatican 


202  Animal    Symbolism 

only  by  sharing  his  power  with  the  French  king, 
while  the  scaly  skin  would  suggest  the  devastating 
overflow  of  the  Tiber. 

About  this  time,  however,  the  dissoluteness  of 
the  Roman  pontiff,  and  the  scandalous  conduct  of 
his  mistresses  and  his  children,  began  to  excite  the 
attention  and  to  provoke  the  censure  of  the  public 
to  such  a  degree,  that  there  would  be  a  general 
tendency  to  interpret  the  monster,  not  perhaps  as 
a  symbol  of  the  institution  of  the  papacy,  but  as  a 
satire  on  the  licentious  occupant  of  the  apostolic 
see,  and  a  warning  from  God  against  the  evil 
doings  of  the  Vicar  of  Christ. 

Somewhat  later,  probably  about  the  )-ear  1 500,  it 
was  engraved  on  copper  by  the  goldsmith  Wenzel 
of  Olmutz,  and  seems  to  have  been  accepted  by 
the  Moravians  as  emblematic  of  the  Romish  hier- 
archy, and  used  as  a  means  of  anti-papal  agitation. 
It  next  appears  as  a  woodcut  in  Melanchthon's 
Figur  des  Antichristlichen  Bapsts  vnd  seiner 
Synagog,  published  in  1523,  and  again  in  the  same 
year  in  his  and  Luther's  joint  work  entitled,  Deutung 
der  czwo  grewlicJien  Figuren  Bapstesels  czu  Rom, 
vnd  Munchkalbs  zii  Freyberg ynn  Meysszen  fiinden. 
A  new  and  improved  edition  of  Melanchthon's 
exposition  of  the  Papstesel  was  printed  at  Witten- 
berg in  1535,  and  endorsed  with  Luther's  "Amen." 
It  also  appears  as  Plate  II.  in  Luther's  Abbildiing 
des  Bapstum  (Wittenberg,  1545),  a  series  of  coarse 
and  positively  indecent  woodcuts,  probably  the 
work  of  Lucas  Cranach,  with  explanatory  doggerel 


In  Ecclesiastical  Architecture     203 

verses.  In  a  letter  of  June  3,  1545,  to  Nicholas 
von  Amsdorf,  first  Protestant  bishop  of  Raumburg, 
the  Reformer  writes  :  "  Your  nephew  George  showed 
me  a  picture  of  the  pope,"  adding  by  way  of 
comment,  and  evidently  with  a  chuckle  of  delight, 
"but  Master  Lucas  is  ein grober  Maler ;"  and  in  a 
letter  of  June  1 5  to  the  same  friend  he  remarks  : 
"  I  shall  endeavour  to  have  Lucas  the  painter 
exchange  this  foul  picture  for  a  more  proper  one." 
The  reference  here  is  not  to  the  Papstesel,  but  to 
Plate  I.,  entitled,  Ortus  et  origo  Papce  ("  Rise  and 
Origin  of  the  Pope  "),  and  representing  his  Holiness 
as  the  excrements  of  a  ghastly,  grinning  monster. 
The  infant  pontiff,  thus  born  in  corruption,  is  reared 
by  the  Furies,  Alecto  rocking  his  cradle,  Megaera 
acting  as  his  wet-nurse,  and  Tisiphone  holding  him 
in  leading  strings.  It  is  evident  from  the  descriptive 
rhymes  accompanying  these  drawings  that  Luther 
fully  entered  into  the  spirit  of  the  artist's  con- 
ceptions, and  heartily  enjoyed  their  coarse  humour. 
His  seeming  censure  of  the  "gross  painter"  and 
the  "foul  picture,"  and  the  expression  of  his  intention 
of  having  a  more  decent  delineation  substituted 
for  it,  must  be  taken  ironically,  and  may  have  been 
called  forth  by  some  criticism  of  his  correspondent. 
The  "  Munchkalb  "  (monk-calf),  the  second  of  the 
monsters  delineated  and  discussed  in  the  Interpret- 
ation of  two  grewsome  Figures  already  cited,  was 
reported  to  have  been  taken  from  a  cow  in  a  public 
slaughter-house  at  Freiburg,  December  12,  1522, 
and  to  have  had  a  round,  flabby,  and  mis-shapen 


204  Animal    Symbolism 

head  with  a  tonsure,  on  which  were  two  large  warts 
or  wens.  The  chin  was  that  of  a  man ;  the  nose, 
ears,  and  upper  jaw  were  those  of  a  calf;  the  hide 
hung  in  folds  between  the  shoulders,  like  a  monk's 
cowl,  and  had  slits  in  the  hind  legs,  like  the  slashes 
in  old  costumes.  This  hideous  creature  was  inter- 
preted by  Luther  as  a  symbol  of  the  stupidity 
and  beastliness  of  the  monastic  orders,  although 
Melanchthon  afterwards  discovered  in  it  a  different 
signification,  explaining  it  as  portending  the  ex- 
cesses of  the  reformatory  movement  that  revealed 
themselves  in  iconoclastic  outrages  and  the  horrors 
of  the  Peasants'  War,  which  broke  out  three  years 
later.  It  is  an  interesting  fact  that  one  of  the 
earliest  explications  of  it  was  given  by  a  Bohemian 
astrologer  in  Prague,  who  saw  in  it  a  condemnation 
of  the  heresy  and  apostasy  of  Luther,  the  renegade 
monk.  A  similar  view  is  taken  by  Cochlaeus, 
Emser,  and  other  Catholic  controversialists,  and  in 
a  treatise  on  monsters  from  the  time  of  Constantine 
to  the  year  1 570  by  the  French  theologian  Sorbinus,^ 
the  causal  connection  between  the  birth  of  such 
creatures  and  some  form  of  schism  in  the  body  of 
Christ,  or  some  sacrilegious  assault  upon  the  ortho- 
dox faith,  is  shown  to  the  satisfaction  of  every  true 
believer. 

In  the  City  Library  of  Lyons  is  the  manuscript 
of  a  poem  entitled  De  Tristibiis  G allies  ("  Woes 
of  France  "),  with  miniature  paintings  of  a  satirical 

^  Arnoldi  Sorbini  Tholosanorufn  theologi  et  regit  ecclesi- 
asicc  Tractatus  de  vionstris^  etc.     Paris,  1570. 


In  Ecclesiastical  Architecture     20  ij 

character  directed  against  the  sectaries  and  schis- 
matics, who  are  represented  as  abasing  and  pillaging 
the  land.  A  lion,  the  symbol  of  France,  is  ridden 
by  an  ape,  which  bears  a  sack  full  of  spoils,  pro- 
bably taken  from  churches  and  cloisters ;  another 
ape  has  tied  a  priest's  vestment  to  the  lion's  hind 
leg  ;  a  third  holds  the  king  of  beasts  ignominiously 
by  the  tail,  while  a  fourth  confronts  the  lion  with  a 
halberd.  Several  apes  are  listening  to  a  sermon 
delivered  by  a  field-preacher ;  others  are  evidently 
applying  the  teachings  of  the  itinerant  evangelist 
by  plundering  consecrated  places  and  insulting  a 
crucifix. 

The  woes  of  France,  resulting  from  Panama  scan- 
dals, which  in  our  day  are  the  sensational  theme  of 
the  journalist's  pen,  would  have  been  delineated  in 
the  middle  ages  quite  as  vividly  and  truthfully,  and 
far  more  pleasingly,  by  the  artist's  pencil. 

As  the  fox  not  only  holds  a  prominent  place  in 
the  Physiologiis,  but  is  also 
the  protagonist  of  the  beast- 
epos,  it  is  natural  that  this 
animal  should  figure  con- 
spicuously in  pictorial  and 
plastic  art,  and  become,  from  _v:  '^-«gs^^  ^j.^j^'^-j 
the  very  nature  of  its  charac-  The  wiies  of  the  fox. 

teristics,  a    favourite  vehicle  iBesuary.) 

of  satire.  The  oldest  of  these  representations  are 
based  upon  the  Physiologus,  in  which  it  is  stated 
that  "  when  the  fox  is  hungry,  it  lies  down  in  a 
furrow  of  the  field  and  covers    itself  partly   with 


2o6  Animal    Symbolism 

earth,  as  though  it  had  been  long  dead.  Then  the 
ravens  and  other  rapacious  birds  come  to  devour 
it,  when  it  suddenly  leaps  up  and  tears  them  in 
pieces.  Thus  the  devil  deceives  those  who  love 
the  corrupt  things  of  this  world  and  obey  the  lusts 
of  the  flesh,  and  entices  them  to  their  own  destruc- 
tion." "  He  who  tells  idle  tales  and  indulges  in 
carnal  pleasures,"  adds  an  old  English  bestiary, 
"  pecks  at  the  skin  of  the  fox  and  tears  its  flesh, 
but  the  devil  requites  the  sinner  by  seizing  him  and 
dragging  him  down  to  murky  hell.  The  devil  and 
the  reprobate  are  crafty  like  the  fox,  and  deserve 
shame.  He  who  speaks  fair  words  and  meditates 
evil  is  a  fox ;  such  a  one  was  Herod,  for  he  said 
that  he  would  believe  on  Christ,  when  he  really  meant 
to  kill  Him." 

In  the  church  of  St.  Fiacre,  near  Le  Faouet,  in 
the  department  of  Morbihan,  formerly  a  portion  of 
Brittany,  are  wood-carvings  on  the  richly-orna- 
mented rood-loft  portraying  these  wiles  of  the  fox, 
which  in  the  first  scene  is  lying  on  its  back  with 
protruding  tongue  and  apparently  dead  ;  instead  of 
carrion-crows,  as  elsewhere,  a  cock  and  several  in- 
quisitive hens  are  pecking  at  different  parts  of  its 
body.  In  the  second  scene  the  fox  has  sprung  up 
and  caught  one  of  them  by  the  neck. 

There  are  similar  reliefs  on  the  abacus  of  a 
column  in  the  cathedral  of  Tarragona  in  Spain. 
On  the  opposite  side  of  the  abacus  are  sculptures  of 
what  Meissner  (Herrig's  Archiv,  Ixv.  214)  calls 
the  burial  of  the  cat,  but  which  would  seem  rather 


In  Ecclesiastical  Architecture     207 

to  represent  the  carrying  of  the  cat  to  execution. 
Tabby  lies  on  a  litter,  which  might  be  mistaken  for 
a  bier,  but  is  really  a  stretcher  used  instead  of  a 
hangman's  cart,  borne  by  rats  and  mice,  and  pre- 
ceded by  a  long  procession  of  these  rodents  with 
banners,  vessels  of  holy  water,  aspergills,  crosiers, 
censers.  The  executioner,  a  rat  bearing  an  axe, 
marches  with  the  full  consciousness  of  his  official 
dignity  under  the  litter.      This  stately  pageant  is 


Execution  of  the  Cat.     {Cailicdral  of  Tarragona,  Spain.') 

followed  by  a  more  lively  spectacle  :  the  cat  springs 
up  and  catches  a  rat,  while  the  rest  of  the  solemn 
assembly  disperse  in  all  directions,  leaving  the 
sacred  utensils  and  the  pompous  paraphernalia  of 
the  panic-stricken  procession  scattered  on  the 
ground.  The  presence  of  the  rat  as  headsman  in- 
dicates that  the  execution  is  about  to  take  place ; 
if  it  had  already  occurred  and  the  "  master  of  high 
works "  {tnaitre  des  hautes-cezivres,  as  the  French 
were  wont  to  style  this  important  functionary)  had 


2o8  Animal    Symbolism 

done   his    duty,  it  would  be  hard  to  imagine  the 
decapitated  culprit  coming  to  life  again. ^ 

Returning  to  St.  Fiacre,  we  find  in  that  quaint 
church  a  third  relief  of  a  fox  lurking  behind  some 
bushes,  from  which  a  cock  and  three  hens  are 
picking  snails.  Still  farther  in  the  background  is 
a  second  fox  wearing  a  cowl  and  standing  in  a 
sort  of  framework  or  enclosure,  which  Champfleury 
calls  a  donjon,  but   Meissner  with  greater  proba- 


Fox  ensnaring  Fowls.     [Church  of  St.  Fiacre,  Le  Faouei. 


bility  assumes  to  be  a  pulpit.  Here  we  have,  instead 
of  the  fox  of  the  Physiologus,  the  chicken-stealing 
and  sanctimonious  Reynard  of  the  mediaeval  epic. 

Another  relief  in  the  same  church  represents  a 
man  seated  on  a  bench  and  steadying  with  his  left 
hand  a  wine-cask,  which  rests  on  his  knee.  In  his 
teeth  he  holds  a  fox  by  the  tip  of  the  tail,  the  half- 
flayed  body  of  which  hangs  between  his  legs. 
Champfleury  explains  this  sculpture  as  a  figurative 
illustration  of  the  phrase  ecorcher  le  renard  ("  flay 
the  fox "),  i.  e.  suffer  from  what  the  Germans  call 

1  Vide  article  on  "  Odo  de  Ceringtonia  "  in  Herrig's  Archiv, 
Ixiv.  In  a  work  entitled  Gothic  Archiiecture  in  Spain.,  bv 
George  Edmond  Street,  is  an  engraving  of  this  piece  of 
sculpture.  Odo  of  Sherington's  Book  of  Fables  was  trans- 
lated into  Spanish  under  t  he  title  of  Libro  de  los  Gates,  of 
which  a  German  version  by  Kunst  has  been  published  in 
Lemcke's  Jahrbiich,  vi.  Cf  Voight's  Kleinere  Denkmdler  der 
Thiersage, 


In  Ecclesiastical  Architecture     209 


Flaying  the  Fox. 
(Si.  Fiacre,  Le  Faouet.) 


Katzenjammer,  or  the  after-effects  of  a  drunken 
debauch.  In  a  word,  it  teaches  a  moral  lesson 
by  a  drastic  exhibition  of  the 
woes  of  inebriety.  Rabelais  de- 
scribes Gargantua  as  a  person 
who  was  wont  to  "  flay  the  fox," 
and  the  common  people  of  France 
still  use  the  phrase  piqiier  un 
renard  ("  prick  a  fox ")  in  the 
same  sense.  Pepys  records  in 
his  Diary  on  one  occasion  :  "  I 
drank  so  much  wine  that  I  was 
even  almost  foxed."  Wine  or 
beer  that  sours  in  fermenting  is 
said  "  to  fox  "  or  to  be  "  foxy," 
because  it  goes  to  the  head,  and  by  deranging  the 
stomach  acts  as  an  emetic. 

On  the  capital  of  a  column  in  the  cathedral  at 
Autun  is  chiselled  the  scene  in  which  the  crane 
extracts  a  bone  from  the  fox's  throat.  Here  the 
artist  clothes  the  fable  with  a  symbolical  signifi- 
cance derived  from  the  Physiologiis  and  the  bestiaries, 
in  which  the  fox  typifies  the  devil,  and  the  crane  is 
an  emblem  of  Christian  care  and  vigilance,  ever 
active  in  saving  souls  from  the  jaws  of  hell.  In 
this  case,  the  crane  must  be  imagined  as  coming 
to  the  rescue,  not  of  the  fox,  but  of  the  bone. 

"  The  fox,"  says  the  Physiologus,  "  injures  the 
earth  by  burrowing  in  it ;  the  earth  signifies  man, 
who  should  bring  forth  the  fruits  of  righteousness  ; 
sin  is  the  hole,  which  the  devil  digs  and  thereby 


2IO  Animal    Symbolism 

causes  these  fruits  to  wither  away.  As  the  wise 
king  saith :  '  Take  us  the  foxes,  the  little  foxes  that 
spoil  the  vines ;  for  our  vines  have  tender  grapes.' 
David  also  spoke  of  becoming  *  a  portion  of  foxes ' ; 
and  our  Saviour  bore  the  same  testimony  when  He 
said  :  '  The  foxes  have  holes.'  " 

This  teaching  is  embodied  in  a  carving  on  a 
miserere  in  the  celebrated  Worcester  Cathedral, 
which  shows  foxes  running  in  and  out  of  holes  ; 
opposite  this  populous  kennel  stands  John  the 
Evangelist  with  his  gospel  in  his  hand  and  an 
eagle  at  his  feet.  Here  the  foxes  are  types  of  the 
devil,  and  the  beholder  is  called  upon  to  choose 
between  the  wily  adversary  and  the  herald  of 
divine  truth.  Sometimes  all  four  evangelists,  or 
Christ  alone,  are  thus  set  in  opposition  to  the 
vulpine  devils.  Foxes  in  cowls  are  the  itinerant 
friars,  who  were  feared  and  hated  by  the  secular 
clergy  on  account  of  their  restless  and  innovating 
spirit  and  propensity  to  religious  agitation,  which 
disturbed  the  peace  of  the  Church,  and  the  comfort 
of  the  holders  of  high  dignities,  and  the  incumbents 
of  fat  benefices.  The  privileges  conferred  upon 
the  mendicant  orders  by  Innocent  HI,  and  his 
successors,  the  reputation  which  many  of  their 
members  justly  acquired  for  scholarship,  and  the 
eminence  they  attained  as  professors  at  the  uni- 
versities, excited  the  envy  of  the  great  body  of 
ecclesiastics.  It  was  their  severely  reformatory 
aim  and  exposure  of  established  abuses,  not  less 
than  their  arrogance  in  the  garb  of  poverty,  that 


In  Ecclesiastical  Architecture     211 

made  them  the  objects  of  hatred  and  the  subjects 
of  satire. 

The  following  may  serve  as  fair  specimens  of  the 
manner  in  which  the  exploits  of  the  fox  are 
delineated  in  various  European  churches,  and  the 
spiritual  or  satirical  uses  to  which  they  are  put.^ 
In  the  Maison  des  Templiers,  formerly  connected 
with  the  neighbouring  church  of  the  Templars 
in  Metz,  and  probably  used  as  a  refectory,  are 
traces  of  a  painting  of  the  thirteenth  century  por- 
traying about  thirty  animals,  to  which  the  fox 
is  preaching  from  a  pulpit.  Among  Reynard's 
auditors  are  the  bear,  the  ape,  the  he-goat,  the 
griffin,  the  cock,  the  hare,  the  stork,  the  sow,  and 
the  cat,  which  are  either  holding  prayer-books  or 
psalters,  or  singing  hymns  from  sheets  of  music, 
while  the  unicorn  plays  the  bagpipe,  and  the  ass 
performs  on  the  harp.  A  little  apart,  with  its 
back  turned  towards  these  worshippers,  is  another 
fox,  in  the  act  of  receiving  the  chalice  from  a  stag, 
while  a  third  fox,  dressed  as  a  pilgrim,  greets  a 
leopard  in  passing.  In  the  background  stands  a 
tent,  in  which  a  dead  animal,  probably  a  calf,  is 
lying. 

In  the  church  of  St.  Denis  at  Amboise,  two 
foxes  with  pilgrim's  staff  and  scrip  are  witnessing 
the  slaughter  of  the  innocents,  doubtless  in  allusion 
to  Herod,  whom  Christ  called  "  that  fox."  The 
frequency  with  which  the  fox  appears  in  the  garb 

'  Cf.  Meissner's  contributions  to  Herrig's  Archiv,  Ixv.,  et 
alias. 


2 1 2  Animal    Symbolism 

of  a  pilgrim  is  a  satire  on  the  craftiness  and  deceit- 
fulness  of  this  class  of  pious  vagrants,  who  were 
morally  about  on  a  level  with  the  modern  tramp. 
This  is  especially  true  of  the  professional  pilgrim 
or  palmer,  who  passed  his  life  in  perpetual  vaga- 
bondage, and  was  to  all  intents  and  purposes  a 
mediaeval  tramp.  It  is  not  merely  an  accidental 
coincidence  that  palmer  became  a  synonym  for 
swindler,  and  that  the  most  voracious  and  devas- 
tating of  caterpillars  was  called  palmer-worm,  but 
showed  the  popular  appreciation  of  the  "  votarist 
in  palmer's  weed." 

On  a  stall  in  the  cathedral  of  Amiens  is  carved 
a  fox  preaching  to  a  flock  of  domestic  fowls.  The 
pulpit  is  in  the  form  of  a  tray,  and  the  preacher  is 
reaching  over  the  edge,  as  if  zealously  expounding 
the  Scriptures,  but  really  for  the  purpose  of  seizing 
a  hen,  whose  devout  interest  in  the  sermon  has 
brought  her  into  dangerous  proximity  to  the  eager- 
eyed  and  rapacious  gospeller.  Again,  on  the 
exterior  of  Canterbury  Cathedral  are  bas-reliefs 
representing  a  fox  in  monastic  habit  discoursing  to 
a  solemn  assembly  of  geese. 

On  the  underside  of  the  seat  of  a  faldstool  in  the 
choir  of  Sherborne  Minster  is  a  carving  of  the 
fox  on  the  gallows,  with  four  geese  acting  as  hang- 
men, and  a  monk  standing  on  either  side  of  it  with 
a  book  in  his  hand.  Also  on  the  church  of  St. 
Michael  in  Bruges  is  a  stone  sculpture,  formerly 
the  tympanum  or  facing  of  a  pediment  over  the 
portal  of  the  collegiate  church  of  St.  Ursin,  repre- 


In  Ecclesiastical  Architecture 


213 


senting  a  cock  and  hen  hauling  a  fox  on  a  cart  to 
the  place  of  execution,  and  preceded  by  a  bear 
with  a  ball  or  globe  at  his  feet,  evidently  the  priest 
who  is  to  minister  spiritual  comfort  to  the  culprit 
in  his  last  moments.  The  fox  has  anything  but  a 
penitent  air;  on   the   contrary,  he  seems  to   take 


Cock  and  Hen  drawing  Fox  to  execution.     (St.  Ursin,  Bruges.) 

quite  a  cheerful  view  of  the  situation,  and  his  sly- 
look  implies  an  intention  to  play  his  executioners 
some  trick  before  reaching  the  scaffold.  He  tries 
to  assume  a  long  face  as  he  journeys  towards  his 
long  home,  but  the  real  state  of  his  mind  is  betrayed 
by  the  merry  twinkle  of  his  eye.  It  is  the  incident 
so  humorously  described  by  the  poet  of  Cham- 
pagne— 

"  Renard  s'en  allait  tristement 
S'emparer  de  son  dernier  gite  ; 
Canteclair  s'en  allait  gaiement  ■ 

Enterrer  son  mort  au  plus  vite. 
Notre  ddfunt  etait  en  carrosse  portd, 

Bien  et  dument  empaquet^ 
Et  vetu  d'une  robe,  helas  !  qu'on  nomme  biere  : 

Robe  d'hiver,  robe  d'^td, 
Que  les  morts  ne  depouillent  guere." 

The  stalls  of  Bristol  Cathedral  are  adorned  with 
a  series  of  grotesques,  which   depict   the   trial    of 


214  Animal    Symbolism 

the  fox  as  described  in  the  beast-epos.  First  we 
have  a  man  riding  on  a  bear  towards  the  fox,  who 
is  peeping  from  behind  a  tree;  this  is  Bruin,  the 
royal  messenger,  coming  to  summon  Reynard  to 
appear  before  the  king  and  answer  for  his  crimes. 
In  the  next  scene  Bruin  is  caught  in  the  cleft  of 
the  log  through  his  greediness  for  honey,  and 
.severely  beaten  by  boors  with  cudgels.  Thirdly, 
Reynard  is  sentenced  to  be  hanged,  and  the 
necessary  preparations  are  made  for  the  imposing 
execution  of  the  death-warrant.  King  Noble  and 
his  royal  spouse  are  seated  on  their  respective 
thrones ;  the  bear,  the  wolf,  and  the  goose  are 
helping  the  condemned  up  the  fatal  ladder  with 
undisguised  pleasure,  while  the  squirrel  sits  on  the 
top  of  the  gallows-tree  and  pulls  a  rope  attached 
to  the  poor  sinner's  neck.  Then  follows  the 
mousing  adventure  of  Tybert,  the  cat  in  the  house 
of  the  priest,  in  portraying  which  the  artist  has 
adhered  quite  closely  to  the  description  of  the 
exciting  incident  given  by  the  poet,  so  that  his 
work  bears  a  striking  resemblance  to  Kaulbach's 
well-known  sketch.  The  cat,  in  desperate  self- 
defence,  scratches  the  priest  in  a  very  sensitive  part 
of  his  body,  to  the  great  horror  of  his  housekeeper, 
or,  maybe,  his  wife  (for  at  that  time  sacerdotal 
celibacy  had  not  become  imperative,  and  was  by 
no  means  universal  in  the  Catholic  Church),  who 
pulls  the  sacrilegious  depredator  violently  by  the 
tail,  while  the  malicious  instigator  of  all  this 
trouble  stands  in  a  corner  and  laughs.     Reynard 


In  Ecclesiastical  Architecture     215 

appears  next  in  a  monk's  hood,  standing  in  a 
pulpit  and  preaching  to  several  geese,  that  stretch 
out  their  long  necks  and  listen  with  a  peculiar 
expression  of  mingled  solemnity  and  sentimentality 
to  the  seductive  orator.  Again  the  irrepressible 
proclivity  of  the  hypocritical  homilist  to  overreach 
some  tender  member  of  his  flock  brings  him  from 
the  sacred  desk  to  the  scaffold,  where  he  is  seen 
dangling  from  the  cross-beam  of  a  gallows,  a 
number  of  his  former  auditors  holding  the  rope, 
and  one  of  them  tugging  at  the  scoundrel's  tail  in 
order  to  hasten  the  process  of  strangulation,  while 
another  is  perched  on  the  top  of  the  gallows, 
cackling  for  joy  and  flapping  her  wings  in  triumph. 
A  woman,  doubtless  Reynard's  wife.  Dame  Her- 
melin,  riding  on  a  mule  and  probably  returning 
from  her  husband's  trial,  is  the  subject  of  the 
seventh  carving  ;  on  one  side  is  a  house,  evidently 
Malepartus,  with  Reynard  looking  warily  out  of 
the  door,  and  a  dove-cot  with  several  doves  in  it. 
In  the  eighth  scene  the  bear  and  the  wolf  are 
dancing  to  the  music  of  a  drum  beaten  by  an  ape, 
thus  showing  their  gladness  at  the  condemnation 
of  their  common  enemy.  There  were  originally 
other  carvings  of  incidents  mentioned  in  the 
poem,  but  they  have  been  partially  destroyed,  and 
those  still  preserved  have  been  renovated  and  re-ar- 
ranged without  the  slightest  regard  to  their  logical 
or  chronological  sequence.  The  general  resem- 
blance to  Kaulbach's  illustrations  of  Reineke  Fuclts 
is    due,    as   already    intimated,   to    the   fact    that 


2i6  Animal    Symbolism 

they  both   faithfully  depict  episodes  of  the  same 
epos. 

In  this  cathedral  are  also  comical  carvings  of 
incidents  derived  from  other  poems  and  popular 
tales,  as,  for  example,  that  of  an  abbot  riding  back- 
ward on  an  ass  and  holding  the  tail  of  his  steed  in 
his  hand  in  the  manner  described  in  Burger's  ballad, 
where  the  emperor  says  to  the  round,  fat,  oily 
abbot  of  St.  Gall— 

"  So  lass'  ich  Euch  fiihren  zu  Esel  durch's  Land, 
Verkehrt,  statt  des  Zaumes  den  Schwanz  in  der  Hand." 

"  Bestriding  an  ass  you  shall  ride  through  the  land, 
With  the  tail  instead  of  the  reins  in  your  hand." 

Another  series  of  wood-carvings  are  the  follow- 
ing more  or  less  fanciful  delineations  of  the  artist, 
although  some  represent  scenes  from  the  French 
versions  of  the  beast-epos  : — 

I.  A  chained  and  muzzled  bear  with  a  ring  in 
its  nose  ;  on  either  side  a  fox  looking  out  slyly  from 
behind  a  tree,  and  two  labourers  with  wheel-barrows. 

II.  A  naked  man  armed  with  a  sword,  and 
attacked  by  two  animals  resembling  a  bear  and 
a  wolf;  on  the  right  side  the  nude  buttocks  of  a 
man,  recalling  the  episode  in  the  fourteenth  branch 
of  the  Roman  de  Renart :  "  De  I'ours  et  du  lou  et 
du  Vilains,  qui  monstrerent  lor  cus  " — 

"  Trestuit  trois  nos  cus  mostrerrons, 
Et  cil  qui  graignor  cul  aura 
Le  bacon  tout  emportera." — (xiv.  7087  sqq) 

III.  A  snail  creeping  up  a  mountain  and  driven 


In  Ecclesiastical  Architecture     217 

by  a  monk ;  at  a  little  distance  a  knight  watching 
the  performance.  In  the  Roman  de  Renart  the 
snail  holds  the  responsible  office  of  gonfalonier, 
and  bears  the  royal  standard — 

"  Le  Rois  Tardins  le  limagon 
Bailla  le  roial  gonfanon, 
Et  li  commanda  I'avant-garde, 
Et  le  lupart  I'arriere-g'arde." — (3511-14.) 

But  there  is  no  such  incident  in  the  Reynardine 
poems  as  that  portrayed  here;  Gautier  de  Coinsi, 
however,  mentions  the  snail  as  one  of  the  animals 
which  served  to  adorn  consecrated  edifices — 

"  Plus  delitont  sont  si  fait  conte 
As  bones  gens  par  Saint-Omer, 
Que  de  Renart  ne  de  Roumer, 
Ne  de  Tardin  le  limagon." 

In  Renart  le  Noiivel  it  is  the  snail,  as  chief  en- 
sign bearer,  that  scales  the  walls  of  Malepartus, 
after  Reynard  has  escaped  by  a  secret  passage, 
and  plants  the  banner  of  the  king  upon  the  battle- 
ments— 

"  Es-vous  Tardins  le  limacon 
Ki  dist  que  par  tans  le  sara, 
As  Murs  s'ahiert,  amont  rampa 
Nului  n'i  vit,  jus  descendi, 
A  le  porte  vint,  si  I'ouvri  ; 
Mais  ains  mist  le  roial  baniere 
Ens  en  le  maistre  tour  de  piere 
En  signe  pris  est  li  castiaus. 
Au  Roi  Noble  est  cis  signes  briaus." — (4214-22.) 

In     a     Roman    Catholic     prayer-book     {Livre 
(THeures)   of    the   thirteenth    century   there    is   a 


2i8  Animal    Symbolism 

miniature  painting  of  a  man  in  the  act  of  shooting 
a  snail  with  an  arbaHst  or  cross-bow.  The  snail  is 
sitting  erect  on  an  arabesque  resembling  a  vine. 
M.  de  Bastard  thinks  the  snail  is  a  symbol  of  Christ 
and  the  resurrection;  but  if  this  interpretation  be 
correct,  it  is  difficult  to  understand  the  signification 
of  the  cross-bowman.  In  another  large  picture  of 
the  fifteenth  century  we  see  a  crowd  of  people, 
among  them  one  woman,  attacking  a  snail  with 
swords  and  staves,  and  crying  out  in  the  words  of 
the  inscription — 

"  Vuide  ce  lieu,  tres  orde  beste, 
Qui  des  vignes  les  bourgeons  mange." 

"  Quit  this  place,  you  filthy  beast, 
That  eats  the  fresh  buds  of  the  vine." 

The  Church,  as  we  have  shown  in  a  volume 
entitled  The  Criminal  Prosecution  and  Capital 
Punishment  of  Animals,  claimed  and  exercised  the 
power  of  expelling  bugs  and  slugs  and  noxious 
insects  from  the  vineyards  and  cultivated  fields  by 
anathematizing  them,  after  they  had  been  formally 
tried  and  condemned  ;  and  it  is  this  function  of  the 
papal  hierarchy  that  the  two  delineations  above- 
mentioned  are  intended  to  illustrate.  It  is  not 
necessary  to  seek  in  them  a  more  recondite  sym- 
bolism or  theological  meaning. 

IV.  Two  men  mounted,  one  on  a  goose  and  the 
other  on  a  hog,  and  each  armed  with  a  spear ; 
probably  the  caricature  of  a  tournament. 

V.  A  pedlar  thrown  down  and  plundered  by 
apes,  which  are  taking  the  wares  out  of  his  pack. 


In  Ecclesiastical  Architecture     219 

VI.  An  ape  as  doctor  examining  a  bottle  of 
urine. 

VII.  An  ape  playing  on  a  lute,  an  instrument 
whose  "  lascivious  pleasing "  was  associated  with 
amorous  delights  and  gallant  intrigues. 

VIII.  An  ape  sitting  astride  an  ass,  which  a 
boor  is  holding  by  the  tail  and  belabouring  with  a 
cudgel. 

These  carvings  belong  probably  to  the  end  of  the 
fifteenth  century.  The  stone  sculptures  in  the 
"  Elder  Lady  Chapel "  are  much  older,  and  date 
from  the  early  part  of  the  thirteenth  century ;  the 
fox,  as  was  its  wont,  is  running  off  with  a  goose ; 
an  ape  and  a  ram  are  performing  on  sylvan  pipes  ; 
another  ape  is  playing  on  a  syrinx  and  carrying  a 
hare  on  its  back. 

Although  such  representations  may  have  been 
inventions  of  the  artist,  It  is  hardly  possible  that 
they  should  have  been  placed  in  the  church  without 
the  will  and  consent  of  the  ecclesiastical  authorities, 
whose  intention  was  evidently  to  censure  by 
burlesquing  the  vices  and  foibles  of  their  day.  But 
what  must  be  regarded  as  most  curious  and 
characteristic  is,  that  satirical  and  often  necessarily 
obscene  delineations  of  this  kind,  although  designed 
for  moral  reproof  and  correction,  should  have  been 
deemed  suitable  decorations  cf  sacred  architecture. 
That  they  sometimes  made  "  the  judicious  grieve  " 
we  have  already  seen  ;  but  it  is  plain  that  they  must 
have  been  sanctioned  by  the  majority  of  the  clergy 
and  generally  approved  by  the  devout  laity. 


.220  Animal    Symbolism 

In  Beverly  Minster  the  misereres  of  the  stalls 
in  the  choir  are  adorned  with  carvings  of  animals, 
in  which  the  adventures  of  the  fox  as  an  itinerant 
preacher  are  more  fully  delineated  than  in  any 
other  ecclesiastical  edifice.  During  the  middle 
ages,  Beverly  or  Inderawood,  as  it  was  originally 
called,  was  a  popular  place  of  pilgrimage,  where 
the  bones  of  St  John  of  Beverly,  who  was  Arch- 
bishop of  York  in  the  eighth  century,  and  canonized 
by  Benedict  IX.  in  1037,  were  revered  by  pious 
multitudes  of  all  classes,  that  thronged  to  this 
shrine  from  every  part  of  England.  Even  after 
the  Reformation  Beverly  remained  a  stronghold  of 
Catholicism,  and  the  chief  centre  of  reactionary 
movements. 

The  carvings  in  question  were  the  work  of 
"  Johannes  Wake  clericus,"  whose  escutcheon  was 
a  crowing  cock  (Wake  !) ;  this  chanticleer  may  have 
been,  however,  a  pictorial  pun  or  heraldic  rebus,  a 
mere  canting  device,  and  not  necessarily  a  family 
coat-of-arms.  They  were  made  in  the  very  year 
(1530)  in  which  Luther  burned  the  papal  bull  at 
Wittenberg,  and  were  directed,  not  against  the 
secular  clergy,  to  which  Wake  himself  belonged, 
but  against  the  mendicant  orders,  and  especially 
against  the  Black  Friars  (Dominicans)  and  Gray 
Friars  (Franciscans),  then  exceedingly  active  as 
predicants  in  Beverly.  These  restless  and  irritating 
elements  in  the  sleek  and  comfortable  sacerdotal 
body  were  perpetual  thorns  in  the  flesh  to  the 
conservative  dignitaries  of  the  Church,  who  regarded 


In  Ecclesiastical  Architecture     221 

them  with  quite  as  deep  aversion  as  they  did  the 
heretical  Protestants  themselves.  The  following 
are  the  subjects  of  the  carvings  : — ■ 

I.  A  fox  running  away  with  a  goose  and  pursued 
by  a  man. 

II.  A  fox  in  a  monk's  habit  preaching  to  a  flock 
of  geese ;  behind  the  exhorter  is  an  ape  that  seizes 
every  goose  within  his  reach,  throwing  it  over  his 
shoulder  and  holding  it  by  the  neck ;  several  of 
them  are  already  hanging  in  this  position. 

III.  The  fox  is  being  hanged  by  geese,  six  of 
them  tugging  at  the  rope  as  executioners,  and  two 
standing  by  as  spectators.  To  this  carving  there 
are  two  pendants  or  side-views ;  in  one  the  fox  is 
lying  apparently  dead  under  the  gallows,  and  an 
ape  is  removing  the  noose  from  the  culprit's  neck  ; 
in  the  other  the  resuscitated  rascal  has  fallen  upon 
the  sleeping  geese  and  carried  off  two  of  them. 

IV.  The  fox  steals  a  goose ;  the  cries  of  the 
other  geese  attract  the  attention  of  an  old  woman, 
who  rushes  out  of  the  house,  but  comes  too  late  to 
prevent  the  robbery. 

V.  A  man  pursues  a  fox  with  dogs,  but  the  wily 
quarry  is  already  safe  in  its  hole  and  peeping  out 
with  a  crafty  look.  A  side-scene  shows  Reynard 
in  bed,  suffering  doubtless  from  indigestion  caused 
by  over-indulgence  in  fat  poultry. 

VI.  A  fox-hunt  with  hounds. 

VII.  Three  peasants  are  hauling  a  cart  with  a 
fox  lying  on  it,  evidently  a  representation  of 
Reynard's  trick  of  pretending  to  be  dead,  and  being 


222  Animal    Symbolism 

picked  up  and  thrown  on  the  cart,  where  the  fish, 
with  which  it  is  laden,  can  be  eaten  at  leisure. 

Besides  these  episodes  from  the  beast-epos,  there 
are  many  purely  grotesque  carvings  or  scenes 
intended  to  enforce  moral  lessons  or  to  illustrate 
the  wisdom  of  homely  proverbs  ;  a  cat  playing  the 
fiddle  for  dancing  mice,  which  she  sports  with  and 
finally  eats ;  an  elephant  with  a  howdah  ;  a  dance  of 
death  with  two  men  in  motley ;  a  man  putting  his 
cart  before  the  horse,  and  another  threshing  eggs 
with  a  flail ;  a  woman  pulling  a  man  by  the  hair ; 
an  animal  eating  out  of  a  narrow-necked  vessel,  in 
which  its  head  is  stuck  fast ;  a  boar-hunt ;  a  stag- 
hunt  ;  an  owl  surrounded  by  small  birds ;  a  lion 
with  its  paw  on  a  woman's  head ;  a  boar  playing 
the  bagpipe  and  another  the  harp,  young  pigs 
dancing,  and  an  ape  on  horseback  leading  three 
muzzled  bears  by  chains;  a  pedlar  plundered  by 
apes ;  an  ape  as  doctor  examining  a  flask  of  urine  ; 
an  ape  dandling  an  infant ;  a  miser  hoarding  his 
money,  while  the  devil  seizes  him  from  behind ;  a 
drunkard  holding  a  goblet  and  clutched  by  a  demon, 
and  finally  several  canting  arms  of  canons,  such  as 
cocks  fighting  on  a  tun  (Cockton),  persons  placing 
weights  on  scales  (Witton,  i.e.  Weight  on),  a 
crowing  cock  (Wake),  and  other  equally  far-fetched 
rebuses. 

In  the  church  of  St.  Mary  in  Beverly  are  still 
older  carvings  of  a  like  character :  two  capoched 
foxes  at  a  lectern  reading  scripture-lessons ;  a  fox 
as  friar  preaching;  a  fox   engaged   in    a    medical 


In  Ecclesiastical  Architecture     223 

diagnosis  as  above ;  foxes  with  crosiers,  and  each 
with  a  goose  in  its  hood ;  and  a  man  riding  a  goat 
with  a  rabbit  under  his  arm.  The  dress  of  the 
foxes  shows  them  to  be  Cistercians. 

On  the  stalls  of  the  choir  in  Lincoln  Cathedral 
are  somewhat  similar  wood-carvings  dating  from 
the  fourteenth  century :  two  apes  bearing  a  young 
ape  on  a  bier,  and  stopping  to  pray  before  a  chapel 
or  shrine  ;  a  crane  dropping  stones  into  a  bottle  in 
order  to  make  the  water  rise  within  reach  ;  and  the 
devil  blowing  a  fire  with  a  bellows  and  boiling  a 
kettle,  out  of  which  emerges  a  man  wearing  a  tiara. 
This  is  probably  a  satire  on  the  election  of  a  pope. 

In  Ely  Cathedral  we  find  a  fox  preaching  to 
geese ;  the  vulpine  divine  wears  an  almuce  and 
stole,  and  holds  a  bishop's  crook  in  the  left  hand  ; 
in  the  right  hand  is  a  scroll,  with  the  v/ords  already 
quoted  from  a  similar  representation  on  the  window 
of  St.  Martin's  Church  in  Leicester  :  "  Testis  est 
mihi  Deus  quam  cupiam  vos  visceribus  mcis.'' 
Another  fox  is  running  off  with  a  goose,  and  is 
pursued  by  an  old  woman  with  a  distaff.  There 
are  also  carvings  of  squirrels,  symbols  of  the  con- 
stant strivings  of  the  Holy  Spirit  ;  apes  ;  a  hunt ; 
a  hart  trampling  on  a  serpent,  typifying  Christ 
subduing  Satan  by  the  waters  of  salvation ;  two 
men  playing  dice  and  drinking,  and  a  woman  stand- 
ing near  and  weeping  over  a  broken  bee-hive  fallen 
to  the  ground,  a  moral  discourse  on  drunkenness 
as  subversive  of  domestic  happiness  and  thrift. 

Carvings     of    a    like     character    decorate    the 


2  24  Animal    Symbolism 

cathedrals  of  Gloucester  and  Winchester,  and 
satirize  the  same  religious  fraternities.  Indeed 
they  existed  formerly  in  nearly  all  the  principal 
English  churches  and  priories,  adorning  usually  the 
stalls  of  the  choir,  the  lectern,  or  the  organ-loft. 
At  a  later  period,  when  the  Reformation  began  to 
be  an  earnest  movement  intensively  and  extensively, 
and  interpreted  these  works  as  deriding  the  offices 
of  the  Church  and  scoffing  at  the  clergy,  the  very 
persons  to  whom  they  owed  their  origin,  they  were 
in  many  cases  destroyed,  as,  for  example,  in  the 
fine  old  Gothic  cathedral  at  Chester. 

In  the  collegiate  church  of  St.  Victor,  at  Xanten 
on  the  Rhine,  are  carvings  on  the  backs  of  the  stalls 
of  the  choir,  in  which  the  begging  friars  are  figured 
as  a  monster  with  the  body  and  feet  of  a  pig,  the 
tail  of  a  fox,  and  the  head  of  a  cowled  monk.  It 
is  a  piece  of  symbolism  recalling  the  portentous 
porco  sacerdos  mentioned  by  Lycosthenes  (p.  529), 
and  embodying  in  plastic  form  the  opinion  ex- 
pressed by  Innocent  III.,  who,  as  a  man  of  learn- 
ing and  lover  of  the  nicer  elegancies  of  life,  at  first 
refused  to  confirm  the  rules  of  the  order  of  St. 
Francis,  saying  that  they  were  more  fit  for  swine 
than  for  human  beings. 

The  Benedictine  Odo  of  Sherington,  who  lived 
in  the  twelfth  century,  in  his  fable  of  the  wolf  in 
sheep's  clothing  denounces  the  rapacity  and  hypo- 
crisy of  the  Cistercians,  stigmatizing  them  as  rene- 
gades and  legacy-hunters,  and  declaring  that  he 
vvould  rather  associate  with  a  pagan  or  a  ]q.^  than 


In  Ecclesiastical  Architecture     225 

with  such  a  monk.  Many  of  the  carvings  already- 
described  derive  their  inspiration  directly  from 
Odo's  fables,  and  inculcate  his  teachings. 

An  American  bishop  and  High-Churchman  was 
wont  to  call  out  to  his  servant,  whenever  a  dissent- 
ing orthodox  minister  visited  him  :  "  John,  count 
the  spoons  ;  there  is  an  evangelical  in  the  house  !  " 
This  warning,  although  not  intended  by  the  cor- 
pulent and  otherwise  good-humoured  prelate  to  be 
taken  seriously,  expresses  the  real  antipathy  of 
mediaeval  bishops  and  other  secular  clergy  towards 
the  mendicant  and  predicant  orders. 

The  embodiment  of  this  feeling  in  works  of  art 
was  by  no  means  confined  to  the  ecclesiastical 
edifices  of  England,  although  more  frequently 
met  with  there  than  on  the  Continent,  especially 
in  the  churches  and  monasteries  belonging  to  the 
Benedictines.  Foxes  in  the  disguise  of  begging 
friars  are  found  in  the  cathedral  of  St.  Etienne  at 
Limoges,  in  St.  Jaurin  of  Evreux,  in  the  cathedral 
of  Le  Mans,  and  were  formerly  on  the  arms  of  the 
seats  in  the  chancel  of  the  cathedral  Notre  Dame 
at  Rouen,  but  were  hewn  off  by  an  over-zealous 
iconoclastic  canon. 

On  the  frieze  of  a  column  in  St.  Peter's  Church 
at  Aulnay  is  the  sculpture  of  an  ass  standing  on 
its  hind  legs  and  invested  with  a  dalmatica.  It 
is  evidently  "  Bernard  li  arciprestres,"  as  the  ass 
is  called  in  the  Romaii  de  Renart,  and  may  be 
regarded  as  a  scoffing  allusion  to  the  noble  and 
saintly  reformer  of  the  Bernardines  and  Cistercians. 

Q 


226  Animal    Symbolism 

In  the  magnificent  cathedral  of  Toledo  in  Spain 
are  reliefs  carved  towards  the  close  of  the  fifteenth 
century,  and  representing  a  bear  near  a  beehive  in 
search  of  honey;  a  fox  strangling  a  cock;  a  woman 
riding  on  a  mule  to  market  with  two  geese  in  a 
basket,  and  a  fox  creeping  up  behind  her  in  order 
to  steal  them ;  an  ape  feeding  a  duck  with  a  spoon, 
and  a  young  ape  catching  hold  of  the  old  one  and 
evidently  soliciting  a  share  of  the  food  ;  a  pig  with 
a  girdle  and  a  knife  (the  pig  turned  butcher);  the 
story  of  Aristotle  as  related  in  the  Lai  d^Aristote; 
a  man  in  motley  approaching  a  tent,  where  he  is 
received  by  a  naked  woman,  who  draws  aside  the 
curtain  in  order  to  admit  him. 

The  Lay  of  Aristotle  is  a  satire  on  the  power 
of  love  and  the  irresistible  fascination  of  female 
beauty,  against  which  neither  philosophic  wisdom 
nor  old  age  is  proof  The  poem,  based  upon  an 
old  tradition,  was  written  by  Henri  d'Andely,  a 
canon  of  the  cathedral  of  Notre-Dame  of  Rouen 
at  the  end  of  the  twelfth  century,  and  is  contained 
in  Etienne  Barbazan's  collection  of  Fabliaux  et 
Contes  Frangois  des  XIl^. — XV\  Siecles  (Paris, 
1756).  The  fable  is  briefly  as  follows.  Whilst 
Alexander  was  pursuing  his  career  of  conquest  in 
the  Orient,  he  became  so  deeply  enamoured  of  an 
East  Indian  girl  as,  in  the  opinion  of  his  soldiers, 
to  imperil  the  success  of  the  campaign  by  giving 
to  dalliance  too  much  rein.  Aristotle  was  there- 
upon deputed  by  the  army  to  remonstrate  with 
the   young  monarch,  who  confessed  his  fault  and 


In  Ecclesiastical  Architecture     227 

promised  to  have  no  further  intercourse  with  the 
dangerous  beauty.  Naturally  the  young  lady  was 
quick  to  observe  the  change,  and  on  reproaching 
her  lover  with  neglect  and  learning  the  cause  of 
it,  vowed  to  avenge  herself  on  the  officious  philo- 
sopher. Accordingly  the  next  day  she  went  into 
the  orchard  wearing  only  a  long  chemise  of  finest 
muslin,  and  walked  to  and  fro  under  Aristotle's 
windows,  singing  to  herself  and  culling  flowers. 
Aristotle  looked  out  and  at  first  feigned  indiffer- 
ence, but  soon  had  his  wise  head  turned,  and 
descending  to  the  orchard  made  an  ardent  declara- 
tion of  love,  and  expressed  his  willingness  to  do 
anything  to  win  her  favour.  As  a  test  of  the 
sincerity  of  his  affection  she  demanded  that  he 
should  condescend  to  be  her  palfrey.  After  some 
hesitation  he  acceded  to  this  humiliating  proposal, 
permitted  himself  to  be  saddled  and  bridled,  and 
began  to  creep  over  the  grass  on  all  fours  with 
the  exultant  girl  seated  on  his  back,  holding  the 
reins  in  one  hand  and  a  riding-whip  in  the  other, 
Alexander,  who  had  watched  the  progress  of  this 
gallant  adventure  from  a  window  of  the  palace, 
now  drew  near  and  derided  the  absurd  infatuation 
of  his  grave  preceptor,  who  candidly  confessed  his 
folly,  but  could  not  refrain  from  the  pedagogical 
habit  of  drawing  a  moral  lesson  from  it  for  the 
benefit  of  others.  "  Beware,"  he  said,  "  for  if  love 
can  make  such  a  fool  of  an  old  man,  how  much 
more  dangerous  must  it  be  to  youth !" 

The  Lay  of  Aristotle  seems  to  have  been  often 


228 


Animal    Symbolism 


delineated  in  Christian  art,  especially  in  cloisters, 
where  it  was  designed  to  glorify  asceticism  and 
celibacy.  One  of  the  finest  representations  of  it 
is  a  bas-relief  underneath  a  console  on  the  fagade 
of  the  cathedral  church  of  Saint-Jean  in  Lyons, 
dating    from    the    fifteenth    century.      Behind   the 

philosopher,      degraded 
to    a    lady's   palfrey,   is 
a  hare,    the  symbol    of 
libidinousness ;     in    the 
two    corners   above   are 
persons   generally    sup- 
posed to  be  Alexander 
and   his  mistress;    it  is 
probable,  however,  that 
the  scene  on  the   right, 
slightly   mutilated,  represents   Aristotle    declaring 
his  love,  and  the  one  on  the  left  the  young  lady 
imposing  the  conditions  on  which  her  favour  may 
be  secured.     There  is  also  a  sculpture  of  the  story 
of  Aristotle  on  a  capital  in  the  church  of  Saint- 
Pierre  in  Caen,  as  well  as  one  in  the  apex  of  an 
arch  and  another  on  the  base  of  a  column  in  the 
cloister  of  Cadouin.     They  used  to  be  interpreted 
as   portraying   the   conjugal    relations  of  Samson 
and  Delilah,  but  really  have  a  broader  application 
in    illustration    of  the  concluding   lines   of  Henri 
d'Andely's  poem — 

"  Veritez  est,  et  je  le  di, 
Qu'  amors  vainc  tout  et  tout  vaincra 
Tant  com  cis  si^cles  durera." 


The  "Lay  of  Aristotle." 
[Saint-Jean,  Lyons.) 


In  Ecclesiastical  Architecture     229 

Mediaeval  legend  makes  Vergil  the  hero  of  an 
equally  farcical  affair  of  gallantry  with  the 
daughter  of  the  Emperor  of  Rome,  who  invited 
him  to  a  rendezvous  at  the  foot  of  a  tower  in 
which  she  dwelt.  She  then  ordered  her  attendants 
to  let  down  from  her  window  a  basket  by  a  rope, 
for  the  ostensible  purpose  of  drawing  him  up ;  but 
instead  of  being  lifted  to  the  goal  of  his  lofty  hopes 
he  was  left  suspended  in  the  midway  air,  and 
became  an  object  of  scoffing  to  every  passer-by. 
This  episode  was  also  sculptured  on  a  pillar  in 
the  cloister  of  Cadouin,  but  has  been  gradually 
destroyed,  so  that  only  few  traces  of  it  are  now 
left.  It  was  commonly  supposed  to  represent  the 
manner  in  which  Saul  of  Tarsus  after  his  con- 
version escaped  the  fury  of  the  Jews  by  being  let 
down  in  a  basket  from  the  wall  of  Damascus. 
The  monks  were  extremely  fond  of  selecting  the 
wisest  and  most  illustrious  men  of  pagan  antiquity, 
and  thus  satirizing  their  frailty  in  their  relations 
to  women  in  order  to  exalt  their  own  cloistered 
virtue  and  saintly  chastity. 

These  cynical,  satirical,  moral,  and  sometimes 
perhaps  purely  fanciful  delineations,  with  the 
description  of  which  it  would  be  easy  to  fill  a  large 
volume,  were  derived  almost  exclusively  from  the 
cycle  of  Reynard's  adventures,  as  recorded  in  dif- 
ferent versions  of  the  beast-epos,  and  have  rarely 
any  relation  to  the  Physiologus.  But  it  is  not 
probable  that  they  would  have  ever  found  admis- 


31ZJL  "XT    ZHIVZL   s:iiiizf: 


anrrinraics   m 


SUL 


-r.    -932: 


In  Ecclesiastical  Architecture     231 

which  they  drew  many  keen-pointed  darts  to  hurl 
against  the  hated  hierarchy.  As  is  well  known, 
the  writings  of  Chaucer  and  Petrarch  were  used 
very  effectively  in  the  same  way.  The  author  of 
Piers  Plowman  is  extremely  severe  in  his  stric- 
tures on  the  "  foure  ordres "  of  begging  friars, 
namely,  Franciscans,  Dominicans,  Carmelites,  and 
Augustines ;  especially  the  first  two  seem  to  have 
been  the  peculiar  objects  of  his  aversion.  The 
Benedictines  hated  these  orders,  and  not  only 
warned  the  people  against  them  in  sermons,  but 
also  burlesqued  them  in  the  carvings,  paintings, 
and  sculptures  of  their  cloisters  and  churches, 
portraying  them  as  wily  foxes,  ravenous  wolves, 
asses,  hogs,  and  stinking  and  salacious  goats ;  and 
there  is  no  doubt  that  the  obnoxious  freres^  how- 
ever worthy  may  have  been  the  original  objects 
of  the  brotherhoods,  soon  degenerated  into  persons 
who  made  a  profession  of  poverty,  but  practised 
all  sorts  of  fraud  to  enrich  their  convents,  which 
became  in  a  short  time  the  grandest  and  wealthiest 
in  England.  They  succeeded  in  acquiring  immense 
influence  over  the  masses,  and  thereby  excited  the 
envy  and  jealousy  of  the  secular  clergy,  and  made 
themselves  odious  to  the  better  classes  by  reason 
of  their  intrigues  and  arrogance,  and  their  success 
in  extorting  rich  bequests  from  the  dying.  They 
were  the  sensational  preachers  of  their  day,  and 
sought  to  attract  crowds  by  novel  doctrines,  eccen- 
tric manners,  coarse  wit,  funny  stories,  rhetorical 
pyrotechnics,  and  other  astounding  feats  of  pulpit 


232  Animal    Symbolism 

prestidigitation,    so    that    Langland    was    wholly 
justified  in  denouncing  them  as 

"  but  jugulers  and  iapers,  of  kynde, 
Lorels  and  lechures  and  lemmans  holden," 

who 

"  ryht  as  Robertes  men  raken  aboute 
At  feires  and  at  ful  ales  and  fyllen  the  cuppe, 
And  precheth  all  of  pardon  to  plesen  the  puple." 

In  the  frequent  representations  of  animals  per- 
forming on  musical  instruments  and  like  whimsical 
conceits  the  artist  did  not  take  his  subjects  either 
from  the  Physiologus  or  the  beast-epos,  but  was 
permitted  to  give  line  and  scope  to  the  sarcastic 
suggestions  of  his  own  fancy  in  censure  of  public 
folly  and  iniquity.  On  the  stalls  of  the  choir  in 
Boston  Minster,  St.  Botolph's  in  Lincolnshire,  and 
on  a  churchwarden's  pew  now  in  the  Hotel  de 
Cluny,  are  carvings  of  pigs  playing  on  the  organ 
or  on  the  harp.  The  hog  and  also  the  dog  as 
harpist  occur  in  St.  Peter's  Cathedral,  Poitiers, 
and  date  from  the  first  half  of  the  thirteenth 
century.  In  the  cathedral  of  Burgos,  a  splendid 
monument  of  pure  Gothic  style  erected  by  German 
architects  in  the  thirteenth  century,  are  carvings 
of  a  bishop  carried  off  by  a  bull-headed  devil ;  two 
knights  and  their  ladies  dancing  to  the  dulcet 
tones  of  a  lute ;  pigs  seated  on  stools  and  eating 
pap  out  of  pots ;  wine-skins  as  knights  on  horse- 
back, with  lances  in  the  rest  and  ready  to  tilt, 
evidently  a  caricature  of  tournaments  and  persi- 
flage   of    theological    polemics ;    a   sow    spinning 


In  Ecclesiastical  Architecture     233 

while  giving  suck  to  her  farrow,  and  a  boar  caus- 
ing the  organ  to  peal  for  the  entertainment  and 
edification  of  his  family;  a  sow  playing  on  the 
bagpipe,  and  her  pigs  dancing  round  an  over- 
turned trough ;  a  man  assailed  and  knocked  down 
by  apes,  whose  young  he  had  captured ;  a  fox 
as  hunter  riding  on  a  dog,  and  carrying  on  his 
shoulders  another  dog  tied  by  its  hind  legs  to  a 
stick,  showing  how  the  tables  may  be  turned.  As 
it  was  the  assumed  and  generally  acknowledged 
function  of  the  Church  to  correct  and  reprove  all 
forms  of  vice  and  folly,  and  to  do  what  Hamlet 
asserted  to  be  "the  purpose  of  playing,"  namely, 
"to  show  virtue  her  own  feature,  scorn  her  own 
image,  and  the  very  age  and  body  of  the  time 
his  form  and  pressure,"  perhaps  we  have  in  these 
beastly  musicians  a  satire  on  the  numerous  wander- 
ing minstrels,  mediaeval  Bohemians,  and  vagabond 
Beghards,  whose  morals  were  not  of  the  best. 
Some  such  motive  would  explain  their  admission 
into  the  Church  more  satisfactorily  than  to  regard 
them  as  mere  caprices  of  the  artist,  which  the 
ecclesiastical  authorities  tolerated  simply  because 
they  amused  the  public.  Besides,  the  repetition 
of  them  in  so  many  churches  in  different  coun- 
tries would  imply  a  general  scheme  of  reform 
and  systematic  crusade  against  the  prevailing 
iniquities. 

The  collegiate  church  at  Manchester,  in  which 
many  grotesque  designs  of  this  sort  are  found, 
contains  also  hunting-scenes  with  tuns,  evidently 


2  34  Animal    Symbolism 

allusions  in  rebus  to  Huntington,  the  first  warden. 
In  numerous  instances  it  is  impossible  to  solve 
these  artistic  puzzles,  as  neither  history  nor  local 
tradition  has  preserved  the  key  to  them.  An  eagle 
flying  away  with  a  child  to  its  aerie  is  the  memorial 
of  an  incident  said  to  have  occurred  in  the  house 
of  Stanley,  one  of  whose  members,  James  Stanley, 
was  the  warden  of  Manchester  College  from  1506 
to  1515.^  The  same  family  tradition  is  carved  on 
a  stool  in  the  chancel  of  Salisbury  Cathedral,  and 
might  easily  be  mistaken  for  an  eagle  mounting  up 
with  an  eaglet  to  the  sun. 

Rats  hanging  a  cat  in  the  presence  of  owls,  that 
are  looking  on  with  judicial  gravity  and  an  air  of 
profound  legal  wisdom,  are  depicted  in  Great  Mal- 
vern Abbey,  and  may  illustrate  the  doctrine  of  final 
retribution. 

Beside  excellent  specimens  of  the  commoner 
symbols  founded  on  the  Physiologus,  such  as  the 
unicorn  asleep  in  the  lap  of  a  virgin,  the  pelican 
feeding  her  young  with  blood  from  her  breast,  and 
others  of  a  similar  character,  there  is,  on  one  of 
the  stalls  in  the  chancel  of  Boston  Minster,  the 
carving  of  an  armed  knight  on  a  steed  in  harness. 
While  the  horse  is  in  full  gallop  one  of  its  shoes 
is  flung  off,  but  the  rider,  without  stopping,  turns 
round  in  his  saddle  and  catches  the  shoe  in  his 
hand  as  it  flies  through  the  air.  Meissner  suggests 
that  this  may  be  mythological,  and  celebrate  the 

1  Cf.  Herrig's  Archiv^  Ixv.  217-222. 


In  Ecclesiastical  Architecture     235 

exploit  of  some  Scandinavian  god  or  hero.  More 
probably,  however,  it  immortalizes  the  marvellous 
feat  of  some  Lincolnshire  chevalier,  and  has  only 
a  local  importance. 

On  the  old  church  of  Marienhafen,  in  East  Fries- 
land,  were  numerous  animals  cut  in  stone,  which 
adorned  the  portal  and  extended  on  the  frieze 
entirely  round  the  building.  The  edifice  was  de- 
molished in  1829,  but  the  city  architect  of  Emden, 
Marten,  made  drawings  of  the  sculptures  as  they 
lay  scattered  about  in  the  churchyard,  and  they 
were  subsequently  published  by  the  "  Gesellschaft 
fiir  bildende  Kunst  und  vaterlandische  Alterthiimer 
zu  Emden."  1  One  series  of  these  works  of  art  tells 
the  story  of  the  wolf  at  school,  and  does  not  differ 
essentially  from  the  reliefs  at  Freiburg  already 
described.  Another  series  portrays  the  burial  of 
the  fox,  and  follows  quite  closely  the  text  of  the 
last  branch  of  the  Roman  de  Renart.  An  animal 
in  a  cowl  is  reading  the  Gospel,  another  is  cele- 
brating mass  at  an  altar,  while  an  ape,  as  acolyte, 
rings  the  sacring-bell ;  a  fourth  animal  is  standing 
on  its  hind  legs  and  reading  the  lections. 

The  next  scene  is  a  funeral  banquet :  one  of  the 
animals  is  sweeping  the  dining-hall,  another  draw- 
ing wine,  a  third  carrying  a  bowl  or  pitcher,  and 
others  bringing  food  into  the  hall,  where  numerous 
animals  are  feasting.  At  the  table  three  apes  are 
carving  a  joint,  a  fourth  is  eating  a  piece  of  bread, 

1  Cf.  Das  Ostfriesische  Monaisblatt,  June,  1878. 


236  Animal    Symbolism 

and  a  fifth  is  holding  an  empty  glass  to  be  filled. 
Then  comes  the  funeral  procession  :  one  animal 
with  a  censer,  another  with  a  cross,  a  hog  with 
an  aspergill  and  a  basin  of  holy  water,  an  ass  in 
priestly  robes,  a  horse  as  sexton  with  a  spade, 
a  camel  with  a  tabor,  a  goat  with  a  bell,  a  wolf 
bearing  a  crucifix,  a  pig  with  a  shovel,  and  a  fox 
lying  on  a  bier.  In  another  scene  at  the  grave  two 
horned  animals  seize  the  deceased  by  the  head  and 
feet  and  lay  him  in  the  pit.  These  are  the  under- 
takers, Brichemer  the  stag  and  Belin  the  ram,  as 
described  in  the  French  poem — 

"  Li  Cors  ont  iluec  descendu 
Qui  covert  iert  d'un  paile  vert, 
Et  quant  il  I'orent  descovert 
Brichemer  par  le  chief  le  prist, 
Ainsi  con  Bernart  li  aprist. 
Qui  maint  mis  en  terre  en  avoit ; 
A  Belin  que  devant  lui  voit 
A  fet  Renart  par  les  piez  prendre. 
En  la  fosse  sanz  plus  attendre 
L'ont  mis  et  couchie  doucement, 
Et  I'Arciprestre  innelement 
Geta  sus  I'eue  beneoite." 

In  the  sculptures  a  priest,  standing  behind  the  stag, 
gives  the  benediction,  an  animal  resembling  a  pig 
sprinkles  holy  water  with  an  aspergill,  and  an  ape 
gazes  sorrowfully  into  the  grave,  by  which  two 
shovels  are  lying.  The  animals  are  much  defaced, 
so  that  it  is  impossible  sometimes  to  determine 
what  kind  of  creatures  they  are  intended  to  repre- 
sent. Another  group  tells  the  story  of  the  goat  in 
the  well. 


In  Ecclesiastical  Architecture     237 

The  western  portal  of  the  cathedral  of  Branden- 
burg on  the  Havel  is  adorned  with  reliefs  similar 
to  those  already  described.  In  the  first  scene  a 
fox  as  friar  is  reading  scripture-lessons  to  some 
geese ;  in  the  second  he  is  preaching  to  them  from 
a  pulpit,  but  before  the  sermon  is  ended  rushes  into 
the  devout  flock  and  seizes  a  plump  auditress  by 
the  neck.  Then  follows  the  trial,  with  geese  as 
witnesses,  the  judge  sitting  on  a  chair  and  an  exe- 
cutioner at  his  side  with  a  drawn  sword ;  finally 
the  culprit  makes  confession  and  saves  his  life. 
Among  the  sculptures,  all  of  which  are  seriously 
injured,  is  one  of  a  man  fighting  a  basilisk  with 
a  venom-repelling  cone  of  crystal  as  described  in 
the  Physiologiis. 

The  cornice  of  the  cathedral  of  Paderborn  is 
decorated  with  delineations  of  scenes  from  the 
fables.  In  the  first,  the  fox  and  the  crane  are  dining 
together,  the  latter  eating  with  relish  out  of  a  tall 
and  narrow-necked  vase  in  which  the  food  is  con- 
tained, while  the  former  must  be  content  with  what 
can  be  got  by  licking  the  outside  of  the  vessel ;  in 
the  second,  a  crane  is  extracting  a  bone  from  the 
throat  of  a  fox,  doubtless  in  this  connection  simply 
a  representation  of  the  incident  described  in  the 
fable,  without  any  reference  to  the  symbolism  of 
saving  souls  from  the  jaws  of  hell,  as  is  elsewhere 
the  case.  Thirdly,  an  old  woman  sitting  on  a 
bench  and  spinning  strikes  with  her  distaff  an  ape, 
which  is  trying  to  steal  a  dish  of  food.  Finally, 
there  are  sculptures  of  a  frog  and  a  swan,  whose 


238  Animal    Symbolism 

aquatic  habits  may  have  some  relation  to  the  re- 
viving and  transforming  virtue  of  the  baptismal 
rite  and  the  waters  of  salvation.  Perhaps  the 
change  of  the  batrachian  from  tadpole  to  frog  may 
furnish  the  basis  of  this  symbolism  of  regeneration. 
In  the  Egyptian  Museum  at  Turin  is  a  lamp  of 
terra-cotta  in  the  shape  of  a  frog,  with  the  inscrip- 
tion Eri2  EIMI  ANATACIC:  "I  am  the  resurrec- 
tion." The  Vedic  poet  Vasishtha  {Rigveda,  vii.  103) 
invokes  the  frogs  as  deities,  and  compares  their 
croaking  to  the  chanting  of  Brahmans,  who  are 
performing  sacrificial  rites,  and  praying  to  the 
cloud-compelling  Parjanya  for  rain  in  time  of 
drought.  The  frog  that  lows  like  a  cow,  and  bleats 
like  a  goat,  the  speckled  and  the  green  frog  are 
entreated  jointly  and  severally  to  refresh  and  en- 
rich and  renew  the  earth.  In  the  Liber  de  Hceri- 
sibiis  (xi.)  of  Philaster,  Bishop  of  Brescia,  the  frog- 
worshippers  {ranarum  ciiltores)  are  mentioned  as 
an  heretical  Christian  sect ;  and  a  law  of  the  year 
428  forbade  Arians,  Macedonians,  and  Batrachi- 
tians  to  reside  within  the  limits  of  the  Roman 
Empire.  It  may  have  been  due  to  this  tendency 
to  worship  frogs  that  their  entrails  were  used  as 
charms  in  ancient  times  (Juvenal,  iii.  44),  and  pre- 
scribed as  a  potent  medicament  by  mediaeval 
quacksalvers.  Although  the  swan  is  not  men- 
tioned in  the  Physiologus,  the  melancholy  musical 
tones  which  it  is  supposed  to  utter  when  dying, 
and  especially  after  having  been  mortally  wounded, 
are  often  compared  by  early   Christian   poets   to 


In  Ecclesiastical  Architecture     239 

the  last  utterances  of  the  crucified  Saviour  and  the 
sweet  resignation  of  the  blessed  martyrs.  This 
figurative  application  of  the  fabled  characteristic 
of  the  bird  would  account  for  its  presence  in  eccle- 
siastical architecture. 

In  the  window-frame  of  an  outside  corridor  of 
the  same  church  are  three  hares  hewn  in  stone,  and 
having  altogether  only  three  ears,  but  so  arranged 
that  each  hare  seems  to  have  two  ears.  This 
sculpture  may  have  symbolized  originally  the 
doctrine  of  the  Trinity,  but  in  the  present  instance 
has  no  religious  significance,  since  it  was  placed 
there  probably  as  a  votive  offering  by  the  travelling 
handicraftsmen  of  Paderborn  as  the  badge  or  en- 
sign of  their  guild.  In  the  cloister  of  the  Fran- 
ciscan nuns  at  Muotta,  in  Switzerland,  is  a  wood- 
carving  of  three  hares  similarly  arranged  ;  in  this 
case  it  was  doubtless  intended  to  be  an  emblem  of 
Trinitarianism. 

In  the  parish  church  of  Kempen  on  the  Rhine 
the    misericords    are    adorned    with   nearly  thirty 


Carvings  on  Stalls  in  Parish  Church  of  Kempen. 

carvings    illustrating   fables   and    proverbs.      Here 
we  have  not  only  the  crane  eating  out  of  a  tall  and 


240 


Animal    Symbolism 


slender  vessel,  as  at  Paderborn,  but  also  the  counter- 
plot of  the  fox  who  turns  the  tables  on  the  crane 
by  inviting  the  latter  to  dinner  and  serving  the 
food  as  thin  soup  in  a  shallow  dish,  from  which  he 
easily  and  eagerly  laps  it  up,  while  his  long-billed 
guest  gets  scarcely  a  drop,  A  man  threshing  eggs 
with  a  flail  would  be  interpreted  in  general  as  an 
example  of  energy  misapplied  ;  but  in  this  case  it 
has  a  special  censorious  significance  not  commonly 
understood.      It  was  one  of  the  privileges  of  the 


Carvings  on  Stalls  in  Parish  Church  of  Kempen. 

clergy  to  collect  eggs  from  parishioners  during 
Lent,  and  the  exercise  of  this  right  was  popularly 
known  as  Eierdreschen  (egg-threshing),  owing  to 
the  diligence  and  zeal  with  which  these  ovarious 
contributions  were  levied.  The  man  beating  eggs 
with  a  flail  satirizes  this  odious  exaction,  and  is 
carved  on  the  stalls  of  many  churches  in  the  Rhine- 
lands,  as,  for  example,  at  Calcar,  Cleves,  and  Em- 
merich.^    Other  carvings  at  Kempen  refer  to  the 

^  In  connection  with  this  form  of  tribute  it  may  be  mentioned 
as  a  parody  on  trial  by  ordeal,  that  if  any  person's  contri- 
bution amounted  to  half  an  ^%<g  and  he  refused  to  give  a 
whole  one,  it  was  customary  to  lay  the  ^■g^  on  the  threshold  of 
the  house  and  strike  it  in  two  with  a  knife  ;  if  the  yolk  flowed 


In  Ecclesiastical  Architecture     241 

same  custom,  and  are  evidently  intended  to  deride 
the  egg-hunting  parson ;  such  as  a  man  holding  an 
egg  up  to  the  light  to  see  if  it  is  fresh,  a  man  feel- 
ing of  a  hen  in  order  to  ascertain  the  prospect  of 
eggs,  so  as  not  to  be  deceived  by  any  excusatory 


Carvings  on  Stalls  in  Parish  Church  of  Kempen. 

plea  of  the  peasant  that  the  hens  don't  lay,  a  man 
sitting  on  eggs  to  hatch  them,  and  a  man  weeping 
over  a  basket  full  of  eggs  fallen  to  the  ground. 
Of  the  other  representations,  more  or  less  sarcastic 


Carvings  on  Stalls  in  Parish  Church  of  Kempen. 

in  their  purpose,  are  a  fisherman  drawing  an  eel-pot 
out  of  the  water ;  another  hauling  in  a  net ;  a  fox 
preaching  to  fowls,  while  a  cowled  confederate  lies 

towards  the  house,  the  tributary  was  declared  to  be  free,  but 
if  it  flowed  outwards,  he  was  condemned  to  pay  a  fine. 

R 


242 


Animal    Symbolism 


in  wait  for  them  behind  the  pulpit ;  two  dogs  fight- 
ing over  a  bone  ;  a  fox  swimming  after  ducks  in  a 
pond  ;  an  ass  kneeling  with  a  pack  on  its  back  and 
a  rosary  in  its  mouth ;  a  man  casting  daisies  before 
swine  {^nargaritas  ante  porcos),  a  confusion  of  the 


Carvings  on  Stalls  in  Parish  Church  of  Kempen. 

pearl  (margarite)  with  the  flower  (marguerite) ;  an 
ass  playing  the  lyre  {asinus  ad  lyrain) ;  a  pig  play- 
ing the  bagpipe ;  a  fox  confessing  a  bird,  as  it  is 
usually  explained,  but  more  probably  a  delineation 


Carvings  on  Stalls  in  Parish  Church  of  Kempen. 

of  the  incident  related  in  the  Roman  de  Renart^  in 
which  Hubert  the  kite  officiates  as  confessor  to 
Reynard  and  is  suddenly  seized  and  eaten  by  the 
crafty  confessant ;  a  bear  getting  honey  out  of  a 
hive ;  a  cat  sitting  near  a  bell,  to  which  a  strap  is 
attached,  and  surrounded    by  four  mice,  who   are 


In  Ecclesiastical  Architecture     243 

evidently  trying  to  devise  the  best  means  of  putting 
it  round  her  neck.  Ernst  aus'm  Weerth  thinks  the 
cat  rings  the  bell  to  entice  the  mice,  perhaps  to  a 
supper,  "  not  where  they  eat,  but  where  they  are 
eaten,"  as  Hamlet  would  say ;  this  interpretation  is 
far-fetched  and  absurd ;  the  intention  of  the  artist 
was  simply  to  illustrate  the  phrase  "  to  bell  the  cat." 
The  ass  with  a  rosary  is  also  carved  on  a  stall  in 
the  Minorite  cloister  of  Cleves,  and  dates  from  the 
year  1474;  it  was  designed  to  throw  ridicule  on 
the  Dominicans,  whose  founder,  in  the  second 
decade  of  the  thirteenth  century,  introduced  the 
rosary  as  a  means  of  keeping  a  proper  tale  of 
prayers,  and  who  were  held  in  derision  on  this 
account,  especially  by  their  rivals  the  Franciscans. 
The  idea  of  performing  devotions  by  counting  beads 
was  not  original  with  Domingo  de  Guzman,  but  was 
borrowed  from  the  Mohammedans.  The  pack  is 
the  heavy  burden  of  sin,  which  the  new  and  im- 
proved system  of  supplication  by  machinery  is 
expected  to  lighten.  At  Kempen  there  are  also 
carvings  of  a  man  shearing  swine,  great  cry  and 
little  wool,  a  general  illustration  of  the  proverb,  and 
perhaps  a  special  satire  on  preaching  friars ;  a  mer- 
maid with  comb  and  mirror,  probably  the  German 
siren  of  the  Lorelei ;  a  pig  putting  on  trousers ;  an 
ape  carrying  a  young  donkey  in  a  dosser,  or  maybe 
one  of  her  own  young,  although  the  creature  in  the 
pannier  has  a  decidedly  asinine  look ;  an  owl  view- 
ing its  face  in  a  mirror,  a  rebus  of  the  typical  medi- 
aeval wag  Tyll  Eulenspiegel ;  a  pelican  feeding  her 


244  Animal    Symbolism 

brood  with  her  blood,  and  other  more  common  or 
less  striking  delineations,  all  of  which  are  remark- 
able for  their  fidelity  to  nature,  and  show  in  the 
main,  a  wonderful  degree  of  technical  skill  in  their 
execution.  This  realistic  and  individualizing  tend- 
ency reveals  itself  in  the  care  and  exactness  with 
which  the  minutest  characteristics  are  observed  and 
reproduced.  They  are  the  works  of  the  Flemish 
school  of  wood-carving,  which  flourished  during  the 
fifteenth  century  at  many  places  in  the  Rhinelands, 
and  especially  at  Calcar. 

As  has  been  already  stated,  the  same  subjects 
with  some  additions  and 
slight  variations  are  treat- 
ed in  St.  Martin's  Church 
at  Emmerich,  in  the  church 
of  St.  Nicholas  at  Calcar, 
and  in  the  Minorite  clois- 

Jolly  Friar  and  Tinker.  tCr  of  CICVCS,  although  the 

(^Minorite  Cloister  in  Cleves.)  .  .     -      .  . 

carvmgs  are  mferior  m 
artistic  execution  to  those  of  Kempen.  At 
Cleves  are  also  representations  of  a  man  riding 
backwards  on  a  pig ;  a  man  stroking  a  cat ;  two 
mendicant  monks,  one  holding  a  fire-pot  and  the 
other  a  bellows  ;  the  same  monks  fighting ;  a  friar 
and  a  tinker  having  a  jollification  together ;  and  a 
cloven-hoofed  animal  reading  a  breviary  and  sup- 
posed to  be  the  devil ;  unfortunately  for  this  inter- 
pretation the  German  devil  is  not  cloven-footed, 
but  solipedous,  having  a  hoof  like  that  of  a  horse. 
The  creature  is  evidently  meant  to  be  a  stag,  which 


In  Ecclesiastical  Architecture     245 

in  the  beast-epos  discharges  the  grave  functions  of 
an  ecclesiastic.  At  Calcar  the  hare  plays  the  bag- 
pipe, and  on  the  back  of  one  of  the  stalls  reclines 
a  queer  man-monster  with  the  breasts  of  a  woman, 
the  feet  of  a  goat,  fins  on  his  legs,  faces  on  his 
shoulders  and  knees,  and  eyes  in  his  hips,  read- 
ing a  book.  At  Emmerich  a  goat  nibbling  a  grape 
vine  exemplifies  the  fable  of  the  goat  as  gardener, 
and  a  man  sitting  between  two  stools  illustrates 
the  vice  of  indecision  and  the  danger  of  playing 
fast  and  loose  with  principles. 

It  may  be  added,  in  concluding  this  portion  of 
the  subject,  that  the  church  edifices  of  the  Nether- 
lands were  formerly  richly  adorned  with  paintings 
and  sculptures  of  a  symbolical,  satirical,  and  didactic 
character,  but  that  they  have  been  nearly  all 
destroyed.  The  work  of  demolition,  begun  by 
Catholic  iconoclasts,  was  continued  by  Calvinistic 
reformers,  and  completed  by  French  radicals  and 
revolutionists. 


CHAPTER  V 

WHIMSEYS  OF   ECCLESIOLOGY  AND  SYMBOLOGY 

Universality  of  the  symbolism  of  the  cross — Cruciform 
phenomena  in  nature — The  sign  of  the  cross  in  the  Old 
Testament,  and  its  prefigurative  significance — Wonder- 
working power  of  the  cross  in  Jewish  history  —  Its 
presence  in  the  Garden  of  Eden  and  in  the  Hebrew 
alphabet — The  cosmos  has  the  form  of  a  cross — Influence 
of  the  doctrine  of  the  Trinity  upon  art — Trinitarian 
suggestions  in  the  material  creation — Mystic  meanings 
in  sacred  architecture — Symbolism  of  bells  and  signifi- 
cance of  orientation — Superstitious  regard  for  the  points 
of  the  compass — Transition  from  christolatry  to  hagiolatry 
— Subtilities  of  ecclesiology  —  Meagreness  of  Hebrew 
mythology — Exercise  of  the  mythopceic  faculty  by  the 
Rabbis  —  Early  Christian  opposition  to  the  theatre — 
Theatrical  rites  and  indecent  amusements  in  churches 
and  cloisters — Feast  of  Fools,  etc. — Analogy  between  the 
anatomy  of  the  ass  and  the  architecture  of  a  cathedral 
— Jewish  and  Christian  reverence  for  the  ass — Feast  of 
the  Ass — Symbolism  swallowed  up  in  buffoonery — Traffic 
in  holy  relics — Satirized  in  Heywood's  play  of  The  Four 
P.P. — Anatomical  peculiarities  of  saints — Queer  freaks 
in  sacred  osteology — Specimens  of  relics  in  Catholic 
churches  —  Miraculous  power  of  self-multiplication — 
Choice  collection  of  Frederic  the  Wise — Anti-Semitic 
sculptures  in  Christian  churches — Coarse  relief  ridiculing 
the  Jews  at  Wittenberg,  and  its  interpretation  by  Luther 
— Similar  carvings  in  other  cities — Decrees  of  John  the 
Good  and  Frederic  the  Hohenstaufe  concerning  usury 
— Classical  myths  in  Christian  art — Orpheus  a  prototype 
246 


Animal  Symbolism  247 

of  Christ — Bacchus  and  the  Lord's  vineyard — Greek 
comic  poets  adored  as  Christian  saints  —  Isis  as  the 
Virgin  Mary^Crude  symbolism  of  early  Christian  art — 
Influence  of  Pagan  antiquity— The  peacock  as  a  Christian 
emblem — Moralization  of  the  myth  of  Ai;gus  and  lo — 
Sirens  and  centaurs  in  architecture — The  Sigurd  Saga 
— Weighing  of  souls — Recording  angels  and  devils — 
Woman  as  an  emissary  of  Satan — The  devil  in  Christian 
art — Dance  of  death— Oldest  representation  of  it — Its 
democratic  character  and  popularity — Manuscripts  with 
miniatures — Holbein's  drawings  —  Sensational  sermons 
of  Honore  de  Sainte  Marie — Modern  delineations  of  the 
theme  by  Rethel,  Seitz,  Liihrig,  and  others. 

As  the  cross  was  the  symbol  of  human  redemption, 
and  the  whole  creation  since  the  Fall  was  supposed 
to  have  been  groaning  and  travailing  together  in 
longing  for  the  advent  of  the  Messiah  and  the 
consummation  of  the  Atonement,  the  Fathers  of 
the  Church  and  the  later  defendants  of  the  faith, 
Tertullian,  Justin  Martyr,  Jerome,  Origen,  Jacobus 
de  Voragine,  and  Hrabanus  Maurus,  imagined  they 
discovered  cruciform  and  cruciferous  phenomena 
everywhere  in  animate  and  inanimate  nature,  and 
laid  great  stress  upon  this  fancy  as  an  incontestable 
proof  of  the  divine  origin  of  Christianity.  Further- 
more, as  the  Jewish  people  was  the  special  channel 
through  which  this  salvation  was  to  be  received, 
the  literary  and  historical  records  of  the  Jews  were 
assumed  to  be  full  of  allusions  to  the  cross,  and 
their  religious  rites  were  interpreted  as  having  no 
purpose  or  validity  except  as  prophecies  and  pre- 
figurations  of  it.  We  are  told  that  man  was  created 
in  the  form  of  a  cross,  a  curious  and  characteristic 
example  of  what  logicians  call  hysteron-proteron, 


248  Animal    Symbolism 

or  what  in  common  parlance  is  said  to  be  putting 
the  cart  before  the  horse,  since  the  cross  took  this 
shape  because,  as  an  instrument  of  human  punish- 
ment and  torture,  it  was  made  to  fit  the  man. 
Again,  as  a  primitive  physico-psychology  resolved 
man  into  seven  elements,  four  of  the  body  and 
three  of  the  soul,  so  the  cross  is  composed  of  four 
notches  and  three  pieces  of  wood.  Three  multiplied 
by  four  makes  twelve,  and  this  number  corresponds 
to  the  sum  of  the  commandments  of  the  Old  (ten) 
and  New  (two)  Testaments.  Four  and  three  form 
respectively  the  basis  of  the  quadrivium  and  the 
trivium,  which  together  constitute  the  seven  liberal 
arts,  and  comprise  the  whole  cycle  of  human 
knowledge.  The  cross  was  made  of  wood,  because 
it  was  through  a  tree  that  man  fell,  and  by  a  tree 
he  must  be  raised  up  and  redeemed.  Indeed  some 
typologists  are  sufficiently  strenuous  to  maintain 
that  the  cross  was  originally  a  tree  in  the  Garden 
of  Eden,  where  it  grew  in  the  form  of  the  Hebrew 
letter  Tau  (T),  that  Adam  and  Eve  hid  themselves 
behind  it,  after  they  had  sinned  and  when  they 
heard  the  voice  of  God,  and  that  the  blood  of  the 
murdered  Abel  cried  out  from  under  it,  thus 
prefiguring  the  expiatory  blood  of  Christ.  It  was 
a  branch  of  this  tree  that  Moses  cast  into  the 
waters  of  Marah  to  make  them  sweet,  and  the  great 
lawgiver's  wonder-working  wand  was  a  piece  of 
the  same  wood.  The  world  itself  is  constructed  in 
the  shape  of  a  cross,  whose  four  points  correspond 
to  the  four  cardinal  points  or  intersections  of  the 


In  Ecclesiastical  Architecture     249 

horizon  with  the  meridian.  Birds  cannot  rise  in 
the  air  and  fly  unless  their  wings  are  extended  in 
the  form  of  a  cross ;  men  assume  this  attitude  in 
prayer  and  in  swimming ;  a  ship  cannot  sail  with- 
out making  the  sign  of  the  cross  with  the  mast 
and  the  yard-arms  ;  and  the  spade  with  which  man 
tills  the  ground,  toiling  in  the  sweat  of  his  brow  as 
the  penalty  of  his  transgression,  is  cruciform.  A 
poet  and  divine  of  the  seventeenth  century  has  put 
these  forced  conceits  into  a  verse  quite  worthy  of 
the  theme — 

"Who  can  blot  out  the  cross,  which  th'  instrument 
Of  God  dewed  on  me  in  the  sacrament  ? 
Who  can  deny  me  power  and  liberty 
To  stretch  mine  arms,  and  mine  own  cross  to  be  ? 
Swim,  and  at  every  stroke  thou  art  thy  cross  ! 
The  mast  and  yard  make  one  when  seas  do  toss. 
Look  down,  thou  spy'st  ever  crosses  in  small  things; 
Look  up,  thou  seest  birds  raised  on  crossed  wings. 
All  the  globe's  frame  and  sphere  is  nothing  else 
But  the  meridian's  crossing  parallels." 

In  the  twelfth  chapter  of  the  Epistle  of  Barnabas, 
the  act  of  Moses  in  stretching  out  his  hands,  in 
order  that  Israel  might  overcome  Amalek  in  battle, 
is  said  to  signify  the  power  of  the  cross.  The 
same  interpretation  is  given  to  the  words  of  Isaiah  : 
"  I  have  spread  out  my  hands  all  the  day  unto 
a  rebellious  people,"  which  mystic  christology 
explains  as  the  rejection  of  the  crucified  Saviour 
by  the  Jews.  The  youthful  David  prevailed  over 
Goliath  because  he  had  a  cross-shaped  staff  in  his 
hand,  to  which  alone  he  owed  his  victory.     The 


250  Animal    Symbolism 

two  sticks  which  the  widow  of  Zarephath  gathered 
to  cook  a  cake  with,  she  held  in  the  form  of  a 
cross,  and  it  was  the  wonder-working  virtue  of  this 
sign  that  caused  the  barrel  of  meal  to  waste  not, 
and  the  cruse  of  oil  not  to  fail ;  afterwards  the 
prophet  Elijah  restored  her  son  to  life  by  stretching 
himself  three  times  upon  the  child  in  the  form  of 
a  cross  and  in  adoration  of  the  Trinity.  The 
faggot  which  Isaac  bore  on  his  shoulders  to  the 
place  of  sacrifice  took  the  same  shape,  and  it  was 
for  this  reason  that  God  sent  an  angel  to  arrest 
the  hand  of  Abraham,  and  accepted  a  ram  for  a 
burnt-offering  instead  of  his  son.  That  the  brazen 
serpent  which  Moses  put  upon  a  pole  prefigured 
the  Crucifixion  is  not  a  matter  of  the  slightest 
doubt,  even  to  the  most  enlightened  orthodox 
hermeneutician  of  the  present  day.  St.  Jerome 
was  so  sure  of  this  that  he  did  not  scruple  to 
translate  "  in  cruce "  the  phrase  which  means 
simply  "upon  a  pole,"  and  is  so  rendered  in  the 
Septuagint  (h  So/cw) ;  and  an  eminent  American 
divine  recently  declared  that  the  efficacy  of  the 
brazen  serpent  in  healing  the  children  of  Israel 
was  due  solely  to  its  typical  connection  with  the 
atoning  death  of  Christ.  The  fact  that  Tau,  the 
imaginary  symbol  of  the  cross,  is  the  last  letter  of 
the  Hebrew  alphabet,  was  adduced  as  conclusive 
proof  that  Judaism,  in  reality  the  most  intensely 
tribal  of  all  religions,  and  reflecting  more  fully 
than  any  other  the  life  and  character  of  the  race 
that  originated  it,  existed   merely  as  a  system  of 


In  Ecclesiastical  Architecture     251 

shadowy  types,  having  for  its  whole  end  and  aim 
the  gospel  of  the  cross.^  The  same  sort  of  reason- 
ing has  discovered  a  profound  significance  in  the 
accidental  resemblance  of  the  Roman  numeral  X 
to  St.  Andrew's  cross  {crux  decussata),  which  must 
therefore  bear  some  mystic  relation  to  the  decalogue. 
The  pascha,  according  to  Justin  Martyr,  was  a 
symbolic  adumbration  of  the  Crucifixion.  "  For 
the  lamb  which  was  roasted  was  so  placed  as  to 
resemble  the  figure  of  a  cross  ;  with  one  spit  it 
was  pierced  longitudinally,  from  the  tail  to  the 
head  ;  with  another  it  was  transfixed  through  the 
shoulders,  so  that  the  fore  legs  became  extended." 
However  natural  it  may  have  been  for  Paul,  as  a 
Jew,  to  speak  of  Christ  metaphorically  as  "  our 
Passover,"  it  is  little  creditable  to  the  critical 
acumen  and  logical  perception  of  later  theologians 
that  they  should  have  taken  this  figure  of  speech 
literally,  and  reared  an  imposing  christological 
superstructure  on  the  unsubstantial  basis  of  a 
trope.  The  smearing  of  the  door-posts  with  blood 
in  the  celebration  of  the  Jewish  feast,  says  Justin 
Martyr,  has  direct  reference  to  the  death  of  the 
Redeemer,  "  because  the  Greek  word  to  smear, 
XpUaOai,  and  the  word  Christ  are  the  same."  As 
smearing  is  only  another  term  for  anointing,  and 
Christ  means  anointed,  and  is  the  Greek  synonym 

^  "  Unde  non  inconvenienter  reor  quod  sicut  omnium 
elementorum  finis  est,  ita  totidem  librorum  veteris  Testa- 
menti  finis  est  crux." — Paschasius  Radbert,  In  Lam.  Jer. 
Bibl.  Patrum,  xiv.  773. 


252  Animal    Symbolism 

of  the  Hebrew  Messiah  {mdshiah),  there  is  nothing 
very  startHng  in  such  an  etymological  coincidence. 

Before  the  twelfth  century  Christ  was  represented 
as  fastened  to  the  cross  with  four  nails,  one  in  each 
hand  and  foot ;  but  out  of  deference  to  the  doctrine 
of  the  Trinity  it  was  deemed  necessary  to  use  only 
three  nails  ;  the  feet  were  therefore  made  to  rest 
upon  a  wooden  support,  held  to  the  upright  beam 
by  a  single  nail.  Soon  afterwards  the  simpler 
method  was  devised  of  placing  one  foot  upon  the 
other  with  a  spike  driven  through  both  of  them. 
Cimabue  was  the  first  to  adopt  this  mode  of 
arranging  the  feet  in  painting ;  and  it  was  in  the 
twentieth  year  of  his  age  that  the  celebration  of 
the  Feast  of  the  Holy  Trinity  in  the  Romish 
Church  was  authorized  and  enjoined  by  the  Synod 
of  Aries  (1260).  This  is  but  one  example  of  the 
far-reaching  and  permanent  influence  of  ecclesi- 
astical decrees  and  the  promulgation  of  dogmas 
upon  art. 

The  legends  of  the  Holy  Rood  surpass  in  ex- 
travagance and  absurdity  all  that  pagan  Germans 
ever  fabled  of  the  sacred  ash  Yggdrasil,  or  Brah- 
mans  of  their  sacrificial  post,  the  Yupa,  or  Buddhists 
of  the  Bodhitree.  With  what  persistence  and 
apparent  pleasure  the  theological  mind  still  continues 
to  run  in  this  old  and  abandoned  rut,  is  startlingly 
and  depressingly  revealed  in  a  paper  on  "  Vestiges 
of  the  Blessed  Trinity  in  the  Material  Creation," 
published  in  T/ie  Dublin  Review  for  January  1893 
by  the  Rev.  John  S.  Vaughan,  who  finds  traces  of 


In  Ecclesiastical  Architecture     253 

this  doctrine  "  written  large  across  the  whole  face 
of  nature,"  and  everywhere  suggested  by  "such 
familiar  things  as  rocks,  mountains,  seas,  and 
lakes."  He  discovers  "  the  mystery  of  the  Trinity  " 
in  the  fact  that  every  object  has  three  dimensions 
that  a  plant  is  composed  of  seed,  stalk,  and  flower 
that  life  is  "  vegetative,  sensitive,  and  rational " 
that  matter  is  solid,  fluid,  and  gaseous ;  that  time  is 
past,  present,  and  future  ;  and  above  all,  that  there 
are  "  three  fundamental  colours,"  which  "  dissolve 
in  the  unity  of  white  light."  Red,  he  says,  is  the 
caloric  ray,  and  corresponds  to  the  Father,  the 
source  of  vital  warmth  and  energy ;  the  yellow  is 
the  luminous  ray,  and  corresponds  to  the  Son, 
"  the  Light  of  the  world  "  ;  the  blue  is  the  chemical 
or  actinic  ray,  and  corresponds  to  the  Holy  Spirit. 
If  cucumbers  or  melons,  he  adds,  be  placed  under 
glass  absorbing  the  blue  ray,  they  will  grow  rapidly 
and  put  forth  luxuriant  blossoms,  but  soon  fade 
away  without  bearing  fruit,  and  this  phenomenon 
he  calls  "a  physical  reflection  of  the  Christian 
precept,  '  Quench  not  the  Spirit.' "  Only  an  in- 
tellect that  had  been  wont  to  feed  upon  the  husks 
of  hermeneutic  theology,  to  the  exclusion  of  all 
wholesomer  nutriment,  could  conceive  of  such 
twaddle,  and  offer  it  to  an  enlightened  public  as 
an  argument  from  analogy.  The  wonder  is  that 
he  did  not  go  more  deeply  into  the  exact  and 
natural  sciences,  and  make  the  triangle,  the  trefoil, 
and  the  trilobite  a  three-fold  confirmation  of  Trini- 
tarianism.     The   investigator  who  puts  Nature  to 


254  Animal    Symbolism 

the  rack,  and  questions  her  like  an  inquisitor  with 
the  boot  and  the  thumbkin,  can  easily  extort  from 
her  a  confession  of  the  truth  of  any  whimsey  he 
may  choose  to  entertain. 

William  Durand,  in  his  Rationale  Divinorum 
Officiorum,  printed  in  1459  by  Gutenberg  and  Fust 
at  Mayence,  makes  every  portion  of  the  church 
edifice  full  of  symbolic  significance.  The  erudite 
and  ingenious  ecclesiologist  gives  free  rein  to  his 
fancy,  and  discovers  mystic  meanings  in  the  struc- 
ture, of  which  the  architect  had  not  the  faintest 
presentiment.  The  latter  seems,  therefore,  to  have 
"builded  better  than  he  knew,"  and  to  have  put 
unconsciously  into  his  work  more  things  than  he 
ever  dreamed  of  in  draughting  his  designs,  just  as 
the  great  poets,  Dante,  Shakespeare,  and  Goethe, 
have  embodied  in  their  writings  many  deep 
thoughts  of  which  they  themselves  were  utterly 
ignorant,  and  which  would  have  been  wholly  lost  to 
the  world  if  some  learned  and  acute  commentator 
had  not  taken  pains  to  point  them  out.  Thus, 
according  to  Durand,  the  stones  represent  the 
faithful ;  the  lime,  which  binds  the  stones  together, 
is  fervent  love  and  charity ;  its  mixture  with  sand 
refers  to  "  actions  performed  for  the  temporal  good 
of  our  brethren";  the  water,  that  serves  to  mix  the 
lime  and  sand,  is  an  emblem  of  the  Holy  Spirit  ; 
and  "as  stones  cannot  adhere  without  mortar,  so 
man  without  charity  cannot  enter  as  an  element 
into  the  construction  of  the  heavenly  Jerusalem." 

Also  bells,  being  made  of  brass,  are  shriller  and 


In  Ecclesiastical  Architecture     255 

louder  than  the  trumpets  of  the  law,  and  denote 
that  God,  who  under  the  old  dispensation  was 
known  only  to  the  Jews,  is  now  proclaimed  to  the 
whole  world  ;  the  durable  material  out  of  which 
they  are  formed  indicates  that  the  truths  of  the 
Gospel  are  not  to  be  superseded,  but  will  endure 
to  the  end  of  time  ;  the  hardness  of  this  material 
signifies  the  fortitude  of  the  Christian  apostle,  to 
whom  it  is  said  :  "  I  have  given  thee  a  forehead 
more  hard  than  their  forehead."  Paul's  assertion  : 
"  I  am  become  as  sounding  brass,"  proves  that  the 
bell  typifies  the  mouth  of  the  preacher,  whose 
tongue,  like  that  of  the  bell,  strikes  both  sides, 
expounding  and  proclaiming  both  Testaments  ;  it 
shows  also  that  the  preacher  should,  on  one  side, 
correct  vice  in  himself,  and,  on  the  other  side,  re- 
prove it  in  his  hearers.  The  wooden  frame  on 
which  the  bell  is  suspended  stands  for  the  cross ; 
the  iron  fastening  it  to  the  wood  is  the  binding 
force  of  moral  duty,  which  is  inseparable  from  the 
cross.  The  wheel  by  which  the  bell  is  rung  is  the 
preacher's  mind,  through  which  the  knowledge  of 
the  divine  law  passes  into  the  understanding  of  the 
people  ;  and  the  three  cords  or  strands  of  the  bell- 
rope  denote  the  threefold  character  of  Scripture, 
consisting  of  history,  allegory,  and  morality.  As 
the  rope  descends  from  the  wooden  trestle  to  the 
hand,  so  the  mystery  of  the  cross  descends  to  the 
hand  and  produces  good  works  ;  while  the  upward 
and  downward  motion  of  the  rope  shows  that 
Scripture  speaks  of  high  things  and  low  things,  or, 


256  Animal    Symbolism 

in  other  words,  is  to  be   interpreted    literally  and 
mystically. 

Curiously  enough,  there  are  still  educated  persons 
who  earnestly  pursue  researches  and  fondly  indulge 
in  speculations  of  this  sort,  and  seem  to  be  edified 
thereby.  In  a  book  on  Symbolisms  in  the  ChurcJies 
of  the  Middle  Ages,  written  by  J.  Mason  Neable 
and  Benjamin  Webb,  and  translated  into  French 
with  an  introduction  by  the  Abbe  Bourassee 
(Tours,  1857),  the  authors,  as  staunch  Catholics,  re- 
gard the  use  of  the  ogive  in  Protestant  churches  as 
a  desecration  of  this  symbol  of  the  Holy  Trinity. 
No  Catholic  architect,  they  declare,  should  design 
a  triple  window  for  a  dissenting  or  heretical  sect 
(including  the  Established  Church  of  England),  or 
introduce  the  trefoil  into  such  building,  since  this 
use  of  them  would  be  a  "  sacrilegious  prostitution 
of  sacred  architecture,  which  is  the  voice  of  the 
Church."  The  only  wonder  is,  from  this  point  of 
view,  that  the  Creator  should  permit  clover  and 
other  trifoliate  plants  to  grow  in  Protestant  ceme- 
teries or  tricuspid  molars  in  a  heretic's  mouth,  and 
that  an  angry  and  outraged  Deity  does  not  strike 
the  impious  Unitarian  dead  who  dares  to  sit  on 
a  three-legged  stool,  or  presumes  to  steep  his  tea  on 
a  tripod. 

Touching  the  signification  of  orientation  in  ec- 
clesiastical architecture,  Gregory  the  Great,  in  his 
exposition  of  Ezekiel  xl.  6,  says  the  east  gate  of 
the  temple  in  the  prophet's  vision  designates  Jesus 
Christ.     "Who  else  can   be  meant   by   this   gate 


In  Ecclesiastical  Architecture     257 

but  our  Lord  and  Redeemer,  who  is  to  us  the  gate 
of  heaven,  as  it  is  written,  '  No  man  cometh  unto 
the  Father  but  by  Me ' ;  and  again,  '  He  that 
entereth  not  in  by  the  door  .  .  .  the  same  is  a 
thief  and  a  robber ' ;  and  then  soon  afterwards,  *  I 
am  the  door.'  He  it  is  of  whom  Zechariah  said, 
*  Behold  the  man,  whose  name  is  the  East.'  1  The 
gate  looking  toward  the  East  refers,  therefore, 
to  Him  who  has  shown  us  the  way  to  the  source  of 
light."  One  cannot  but  admire  the  cogency  of  the 
illustrious  pope's  reasoning,  and  the  peculiar  perti- 
nence of  his  scriptural  citations. 

According  to  the  Talmud,  the  manifestations  of 
God  are  revealed  in  the  West  in  distinction  from 
the  East,  toward  which  the  heathen  and  the  heretics 
(Essenes)  turn  their  faces  in  their  devotions. 
Patristic  superstition,  on  the  contrary,  looked  upon 
the  West  as  the  seat  of  darkness,  and  the  abode  of 
demons ;  for  this  reason,  the  rose-window  was 
placed  high  up  in  the  western  wall  of  the  church, 
as  the  light  of  the  Gospel  that  is  thus  made  visible 
to  those  sitting  in  darkness,  and  "  turneth  the 
shadow  of  death  into  the  morning."  -  The  towers 
at  the  western  end  of  the  edifice,  with  their 
bells,  were  intended  to  terrify  and  discomfit  the 
demons,  and,  at   the  same  time,  to    summon    the 

^  The  passage  (Zech.  vi.  12)  reads  in  the  Vulgate  :  "Ecce 
vir,  oriens  nomen  ejus."  In  the  original,  the  word  here 
translated  "  oriens "  means  "  springing  up,"  and  in  our 
English  version  is  rendered  "  the  Branch." 

2  Cf.  Lactantius,  Divin.  Iiistit.^  ii.  10  ;  Hieronym,  In  Amos 
and  In  Ezech. 


258  Animal    Symbolism 

nations  to  Christ,  who  in  the  earliest  churches 
was  seated  over  the  western  entrance  to  receive 
them.  After  the  twelfth  century,  when  the  dread 
of  the  last  judgment,  which  it  was  supposed 
would  take  place  at  the  end  of  the  eleventh 
century  and  introduce  the  millennium,  had  com- 
pletely passed  away,  the  space  above  the  door- 
way was  usually  occupied  by  the  image  of  the 
saint  to  whom  the  church  was  dedicated,  thus 
marking  a  transition  from  christolatry  to  hagi- 
olatry.  The  sculptures  of  the  doorway  plane, 
and  the  paintings  of  the  Catharine-wheel  windows, 
very  frequently  represented  the  revolt  of  the 
angels,  as  may  be  seen  in  Freiburg  Minster,  and 
in  the  cathedral  of  St.  John  in  Lyons.  The 
North  is  the  region  of  meteorological  devils, 
which,  under  the  dominion  and  leadership  of  the 
"  Prince  of  the  power  of  the  air,"  produce  storm.s 
and  convulsions  in  nature,  and  foster  unruly 
passions  and  deeds  of  violence  in  man.  The  evil 
principle,  as  embodied  in  unclean  beasts  and 
exhibited  in  obscene  and  lascivious  actions,  was 
properly  portrayed  in  the  sculptures  and  paintings 
on  the  north  side  of  the  church,  which  was  assigned 
to  Satan  and  his  satellites,  and  known  as  "  the 
black  side."  On  the  other  hand,  the  South  shared 
the  sacred  character  of  the  East,  and  was  con- 
secrated to  saints  and  martyrs  and  the  famous 
doctors  of  theology  and  sturdy  defenders  of  the 
faith.  On  the  walls  and  in  the  windows  toward 
the  south  are  depicted  the  triumphs  of  Christianity, 


In  Ecclesiastical  Architecture     259 

the  millennial  reign  of  Christ,  the  worship  of  the 
Lamb,  and  similar  scenes.  Does  not  the  prophet 
Habakkuk  say  that  God  came  from  Teman,  and 
does  not  Teman  mean  South  ?  What  more  con- 
clusive proof  could  any  rational  and  not  utterly 
carnal   mind   desire  ? 

In  the  first  half  of  the  fifth  century,  Eucherius, 
Bishop  of  Lyons,  wrote  a  book  of  formulas  of 
spiritual  knowledge  {Liber  Formularum  Spiritualis 
IntelligenticB),  modelled  after  the  Clavis  of  Melito, 
in  which  this  symbolism  of  the  points  of  the  com- 
pass is  elaborately  amplified  and  explained.  The 
south  signifies  the  "  fervour  of  faith ";  "  the 
streams  in  the  south,"  spoken  of  by  the  Psalmist 
(cxxvi.  4),  refer  to  the  effluence  of  the  Holy  Spirit; 
the  ardently  erotic  and  highly  poetic  passage  in 
Solomon's  Song  (iv.  16),  "  Awake,  O  north  wind; 
and  come,  thou  south,"  is  interpreted  as  equivalent 
to  the  words,  "  Get  thee  behind  me,  Satan  ;  and 
draw  near  to  me,  O  divine  Spirit." 

Durand  finds  some  esoteric  meaning,  known 
only  to  ecclesiologists,  in  every  part  and  proportion 
of  the  sacred  structure.  "  Its  length  indicates 
long-suffering,  which  patiently  endures  adversity 
and  affliction,  waiting  to  reach  the  heavenly  home. 
Its  breadth  is  the  largeness  of  Christian  charity, 
which  embraces  friends  and  foes.  Its  height  is 
the  measure  of  the  lofty  hope  of  eternal  happiness." 
Every  joist  and  buttress,  every  stone  and  timber 
from  the  crypt  to  the  corona  of  the  cornice,  every 
arch  and  pinnacle,  the  lantern  of  the  dome,  and  the 


26o  Animal    Symbolism 

weather-cock  on  the  steeple,  is  made  to  yield  some 
mystic  quality,  or  convey  some  moral  lesson. 
"  The  panes  of  the  windows,"  according  to  Claude 
Villette  {Raisons  de  V Office,  Paris,  1601),  "are  the 
Scriptures,  which  communicate  the  light  of  truth 
coming  from  above  and  ward  off  the  wind,  snow, 
and  hail  of  heresies,  false  doctrines,  and  schisms, 
sent  by  the  father  of  lies.  The  frames,  in  which 
the  panes  of  glass  are  firmly  set,  signify  the 
CEcumenical  Councils  by  which  the  Scriptures  are 
interpreted  and  upheld,  and  the  doctrines  they 
teach  made  manifest.  The  size  of  the  windows 
shows  the  depth  and  magnitude  of  Holy  Writ, 
incomprehensible  to  the  natural  man  ;  their  circular 
form  denotes  that  the  Church  is  complete  in  herself, 
and  consistent  in  all  her  doctrines." 

Such  are  a  few  specimens  of  the  subtilties  and 
trivialities  of  mediaeval  and  modern  symbologists, 
which  suffice  to  illustrate  the  general  tendency  of 
their  speculations,  and  the  excess  of  abstrusity 
and  absurdity  to  which  they  carried  their  queer 
conceits. 

Hebrew  literature  has  only  a  very  meagre 
mythology,  compared  with  the  literature  of  India 
or  Greece  or  any  ancient  people  of  Aryan  blood. 
The  jealously  vindictive  and  supreme  ascendency 
of  the  Jewish  tribal  god  did  not  favour  the  growth 
and  exercise  of  the  mythopoeic  faculty,  but  made 
every  attempt  to  foster  it  fatal  alike  to  the  safety 
and  comfort  of  the  individual,  and  to  the  consoli- 
dation and  continuity  of  the  national  life.     But  the 


In  Ecclesiastical  Architecture     261 

Hebrew  imagination,  although  debarred  from  the 
populous  regions  of  Olympus  and  Tartarus  by  the 
stern  command  of  Jehovah,  "  Thou  shalt  have  no 
other  gods  before  Me,"  would  not  be  cheated  of  its 
rights,  and  mythologized  in  less  inviting  but  un- 
forbidden directions,  grazing  and  ruminating  on 
the  stubbled  fields  of  scholia,  and  getting  what 
nutriment  could  be  extracted  from  such  dry  and 
sapless  fodder.  In  this  wise,  the  Rabbis  succeeded 
in  evolving  a  whole  system  of  myths  and  fables 
out  of  their  sacred  books  and  ceremonial  institu- 
tions. Noah's  dove,  which  returned  to  the  ark 
with  an  olive  branch,  had  received  it,  according  to 
the  Talmudists,  from  the  hand  of  God ;  and  out  of 
this  assumption  was  developed  a  most  luxuriant 
and  wide-spreading  banyan  forest  of  allegory. 
The  Sabbath  was  also  personified  and  made  to 
appear  before  the  seat  of  God,  like  Schiller's  poet 
before  the  throne  of  Zeus,  and  to  complain  of  its 
isolation  in  being  set  apart  as  a  holy  day.  Jehovah 
regretted  that  he  could  not  change  this  condition 
of  things  without  destroying  the  consecrated  cha- 
racter of  the  seventh  day,  but  he  conferred  upon  it, 
in  compensation  for  its  loneliness,  the  privilege  of 
being  for  ever  united  with  the  chosen  people  in 
nuptial  ties,  and  of  fostering  as  the  fruit  of  this 
union  the  so-called  Sabbath-soul  of  Israel.  And 
the  Lord  blessed  this  marriage,  and  declared  it  to 
be  sacred  and  indissoluble,  and  absolutely  essential 
to  the  happiness  and  prosperity  of  the  Jewish 
nation.      When   the   Roman   government   forbade 


262  Animal    Symbolism 

the  observance  of  the  Sabbath  by  severe  penalties, 
Rabbi  Simon  Ben  Jochai  went  to  Rome  and  suc- 
ceeded in  having  the  prohibition  removed,  using 
this  fable  in  his  interview  with  the  emperor  in 
order  to  enforce  the  claims  of  the  Sabbath  as  a 
divine  institution,  indispensable  to  the  welfare  of 
Israel.  There  is  an  apologue  by  Rabbi  Jehuda 
Bar  Shalom,  in  which  the  rite  of  circumcision  is  the 
chief  actor,  and  the  Sabbath  plays  a  subordinate 
and  less  commendable  part,  being  too  much  given 
up  to  convivial  pleasures. 

The  Rabbis  mythologized  even  with  the  letters  of 
the  alphabet,  all  of  which,  from  Aleph  to  Tau, 
appear  in  person  before  Jehovah  to  present  their 
respective  claims  to  consideration,  and  indulge 
in  the  most  wearisome  and  nonsensical  harangues. 
This  sort  of  apologue  arose  from  the  peculiar 
sacredness  attached  to  the  text  of  the  law  orThora, 
which  was  identified  with  the  wisdom  personified 
in  the  eighth  chapter  of  Proverbs,  and  with  the 
uncreated  Word,  which  was  with  God  before  the 
creation  of  the  world,  and  afterwards  became  the 
incarnate  Logos  of  the  Gnostics  and  the  synonym 
of  Christ.i 

This  superstitious  reverence  for  the  letter  of  the 
law  was  transmitted  to  the  early  Christians,  who 
naturally  applied  it  to  their  own  sacred  records, 
declaring  them  to  be  theopneustic,  or  "  given  by 

^  Cf.  Die  Fabel  im  Talmud ttnd  Midrasch^  von  Dr.  Samuel 
Back,  in  Monatsschrift  fiir  Geschtchte  und  Wissenschaft  des 
Jtcdenthiuns.     Krotoschin,  1880-81. 


In  Ecclesiastical  Architecture     263 

inspiration  of  God."  Out  of  this  feeling,  dogmatic 
theology  easily  developed  the  doctrine  of  plenary 
inspiration,  which  the  Reformers  and  later  Pro- 
testants used  as  an  effective  weapon,  opposing  the 
infallible  authority  of  Holy  Writ  to  the  infallible 
authority  of  the  Holy  See,  and  which  was  finally 
carried  to  that  extreme  of  fetichistic  bibliolatry 
that  has  been  such  a  serious  obstacle  to  the  spread 
of  knowledge  and  to  the  progress  of  the  race,  and 
is  now  just  beginning  to  be  set  aside  by  scientific 
research  and  sound  criticism. 

At  the  beginning  of  the  Christian  era  the  theatre 
had  fallen  into  decay,  and  hardly  anything  re- 
mained of  it  except  the  brutal  butcheries  of  the 
amphitheatre,  and  the  noisy  and  turbulent  diver- 
sions of  the  circus.  It  was  natural  enough  that 
the  early  Christians  should  have  detested  and  de- 
nounced such  performances.  Actors  as  a  class  were 
anathematized  and  declared  accursed  by  ecclesi- 
astical authorities,  A  capitulary  of  Charlemagne, 
inspired  and  dictated  by  the  Church,  declared  all 
players  {Jiistriones)  to  be  infamous  and  incompetent 
to  testify  in  courts  of  justice.  The  Provincial 
Councils  of  Mayence,  Tours,  and  Chalons  in  813 
decreed  the  histrionic  profession  ignominious,  and 
excommunicated  all  clergymen  who  countenanced 
theatrical  representations.  In  1186,  Philippe 
Auguste  issued  an  edict  banishing  actors  from  his 
realm. 

But  the  passion  for  the  theatre  is  too  deeply 
rooted  in  human  nature  to  be  easily  eradicated ; 


S64  Animal    Symbolism 

and  the  Church,  finding  all  efforts  to  suppress  it 
unavailing,  determined  to  direct  and  utilize  it. 
Accordingly  theatrical  elements  were  introduced 
into  the  celebration  of  Christian  festivals,  which 
were  mostly  of  pagan  origin.  The  old  Roman 
Lupercalia  became  the  feast  of  the  Purification ; 
the  Saturnalia-survived  in  the  Carnival ;  the  Robi- 
galia,  consisting  of  offerings  in  the  fields  to  the 
god  Robigus  (or  according  to  Ovid,  Fast.,  iv.  905-35, 
the  goddess  Robigo)  to  avert  mildew,  gave  rise  to 
the  processions  of  Rogation  week ;  the  pagan  feast 
of  the  dead  is  celebrated  as  All  Souls'  Day ;  and 
St.  John's  Day  and  Christmas  are  relics  of  sol- 
stitial worship  and  fulfilments  of  the  Baptist's 
prophecy  :  "  He  must  increase,  but  I  must  decrease." 
At  a  very  early  period  the  Church  began  to 
invest  her  solemn  rites  with  a  theatrical  character. 
At  Christmas,  children  robed  as  angels  sang  songs 
in  differents  parts  of  the  sacred  edifice  above  the 
choir,  a  group  of  shepherds  passed  through  the 
transept  towards  a  stable  built  behind  the  altar, 
and  were  met  by  two  priests  costumed  as  midwives, 
who  inquired  :  "  What  seek  ye  ? "  The  shepherds 
replied  :  "  Our  Saviour,  the  Christ."  "  The  child 
is  here,"  was  the  response,  and  all  knelt  before  the 
crib  in  the  presence  of  the  mother,  and  chanted  the 
Salve  Virgo.  On  the  feast  of  the  Epiphany  the 
three  kings  entered  through  the  chief  portal  and 
advanced  in  gorgeous  array  to  the  place  where  the 
infant  lay  and  worshipped  Him,  presenting  their 
gifts.     They  then  went  out  through  the  door  of 


In  Ecclesiastical  Architecture     265 

the  transept  in  accordance  with  the  statement  that 
the  wise  men  "departed  into  their  own  country 
another  way."  Priests  in  albs  mounted  up  on 
towers  to  represent  the  Ascension  ;  and  at  Pentecost 
a  dove  descended  from  the  arched  ceiHng  of  the 
church  to  denote  the  Holy  Spirit  coming  down 
from  heaven.  On  Palm  Sunday  an  immense  crowd 
of  people  approached  the  city  from  the  country, 
strewing  branches  in  the  way  of  a  man  riding  on 
an  ass ;  as  the  procession  drew  near,  the  priests 
and  choristers  sang :  "  Lift  up  your  heads,  O  ye 
gates." 

Such  are  a  few  examples  of  the  childish  and 
clumsy  manner  in  which  the  Church  sought  to 
render  her  ceremonies  more  vivid  and  impressive 
as  well  as  more  entertaining.  This  rude  dramatiz- 
ation of  the  principal  incidents  of  the  Gospel  story 
was  gradually  extended  to  religious  legends,  thus 
giving  rise  to  semi-liturgic  mysteries,  miracle-plays, 
and  moralities,  and  leading  to  a  revival  of  the 
secular  drama.  The  clergy  encouraged  hilarity 
and  gaiety,  -because  they  wished  to  attract  the 
vulgar  throng,  and  to  keep  their  hold  on  the 
masses  by  providing  for  their  amusement.  In  this 
desire  originated  such  festivals  as  the  Feast  of 
Fools  and  of  Innocents,  and  the  Ass's  Feast. 

At  Rouen  at  Christmas,  twelve  of  the  clergy, 
dressed  to  represent  six  Jews  and  six  Gentiles, 
were  placed  respectively  on  the  right  and  the  left 
of  a  pyre  burning  in  the  centre  of  the  choir.  Two 
young  priests  then  call  upon  them  to  recognize  and 


266  Animal    Symbolism 

revere  the  mystery  of  the  divine  Incarnation.  They 
refuse  to  do  so,  and  in  order  to  convince  them  of 
the  truth,  the  principal  personages  of  the  Bible  are 
made  to  appear  :  Moses  with  long  beard  and  horns, 
the  greater  and  lesser  prophets,  Balaam  on  his  ass 
with  the  messengers  of  Balak  and  the  angel  stand- 
ing in  the  way,  Shadrach,  Meshach,  and  Abednego 
in  the  fiery  furnace,  apostles,  sibyls,  and  Vergil, 
who  had  foretold  the  advent  of  Christ,  and  many 
other  witnesses  of  the  true  God.  This  overwhelm- 
ing testimony  admits  of  no  contradiction,  and  the 
stubborn  Jews  and  ignorant  Gentiles  are  converted 
from  the  error  of  their  ways.  Whether  the  burning 
pyre  was  reserved  as  an  iiltinia  ratio  in  case  of 
final  obduracy  is  not  stated,  but  would  seem  to  be 
suggested.  These  spectacles  were  first  given  in 
the  nave  of  the  church,  but,  as  the  throng  increased, 
they  were  transferred  to  the  open  air,  and  scaffold- 
ings were  erected  for  the  purpose  in  front  of  the 
cathedral. 

In  1 2 12,  the  Council  of  Paris  forbade  the  nuns 
to  celebrate  the  Feast  of  Fools,  on  account  of  the 
excesses  and  scandals  which  it  occasioned.  In 
1245,  Archbishop  Odon  found  it  necessary  to 
suppress  the  licentious  amusements  of  the  nuns  in 
the  convents  of  Rouen,  and  mentions  especially 
their  accustomed  dissolute  sports  ("  ludibria  con- 
sueta  "),  and  their  dances  either  among  themselves 
or  with  secular  priests  ("aut  inter  vos  seu  cum 
secularibus  choreas  ducendo  ").  These  dances,  which 
were  performed  on   the  great   ecclesiastical  feast- 


In   Ecclesiastical  Architecture     267 

days,  were  accompanied  by  comical  and  scurrilous 
songs  and  other  unseemly  exhibitions.  The  chapter 
of  the  cathedral  of  Senlis  issued  in  1497  an  order 
permitting  the  lower  clergy  to  "  enjoy  their  diver- 
sions before  the  principal  portal  of  the  church  on 
the  eve  of  the  Epiphany,  provided  they  do  not  sing 
infamous  songs,  with  ribald  and  obscene  words,  or 
dance  in  a  lewd  manner,  all  of  which  things,"  they 
add,  "took  place  on  last  Innocents'  Day."  In  an 
old  collection  of  forty  sermons  on  the  destruction 
of  Nineveh  (^Sertnones  quadraginta  de  destriictione 
NinevcE,  Paris,  1525),  the  author  asserts  that  priests 
and  monks  were  wont  to  visit  nunneries  both  by 
night  and  by  day,  and  to  perform  indecent  dances 
with  the  inmates;  "as  to  the  rest,"  he  concludes, 
"  I  keep  silent,  lest  perchance  I  may  offend  pious 
ears." 

Even  within  the  memory  of  persons  still  living, 
the  midnight  masses,  especially  in  France,  were 
attended  by  all  sorts  of  rude  horse-play,  such  as 
strewing  the  pavement  of  the  church  with  "  fulmi- 
nating peas,"  which  exploded  when  trodden  upon, 
barricading  the  aisles  with  chairs  or  cords,  filling 
the  stoups  with  ink,  and  embracing  young  girls  in 
"  the  dim  religious  light  "  of  the  chapels. 

A  very  queer  notion  was  entertained  and  in- 
culcated in  the  middle  ages,  and  seems  still  to 
prevail  in  some  less  enlightened  portions  of 
Christendom,  that  there  is  a  mysterious  and  far- 
reaching  analogy  between  the  anatomy  of  an 
ass  and    the   architecture    of   a    cathedral.     Thus 


268  Animal    Symbolism 

M.  Jerome  Bugeau,  in  his  Chansons  Populaires  des 
Provinces  de  V Quest  (Niort,  1866),  gives  the  follow- 
ing catechism  taken  down  from  the  Hps  of  children 
in  Angoumois  (now  in  the  department  of  Charente), 
and  evidently  forming  an  important  part  of  their 
religious  instruction — 

"  Priest.  What  do  the  two  ears  of  the  ass  signify  ? 
"  Children.  The  two  ears  of  the  ass  signify  the  two 

great  patron  saints  of  our  city. 
''Priest.  What  does  the  head  of  the  ass  signify  ? 
"  Childre7i.  The  head  of  the  ass  signifies  the  great 
bell,  and  the  rein  is  the  clapper  of  the  great 
bell  in  the  tower  of  the  cathedral  dedicated 
to  the  patron  saints  of  our  city. 
"  Priest.  What  does  the  throat  of  the  ass  signify  } 
"  Children.  The  throat  of  the  ass  signifies   the 
chief  portal  of  the  cathedral  dedicated  to  the 
patron  saints  of  our  city. 
"  Priest.  What  does  the  body  of  the  ass  signify  } 
"  Children.  The  body  of  the  ass  signifies  the  whole 
structure  of  the  cathedral  dedicated  to  the 
patron  saints  of  our  city." 
In  this  style  the  catechism  goes  on,  showing  the 
analogies  or  rather   the   homologies   between  the 
animal  and    the  edifice;  the  four  legs  of  the  ass 
are' the  four  principal  pillars  of  the  building;  the 
heart,    liver,    kidneys,    and    other   internal    organs 
are  the   lamps ;  the   paunch    is    the   poor-box,   in 
which  the  pious  put  their  offerings ;  the  skin  is  the 
cope  worn  by  the   clergy  during   divine   service ; 
the  tail  is  the  aspergill  for  sprinkling  holy  water 


In   Ecclesiastical   Architecture     269 

on  the  people ;  even  the  buttocks  are  not  omitted, 
but  stand  for  "  the  beautiful  stoup,  which  holds  the 
holy  water  in  the  cathedral  dedicated  to  the  patron 
saints  of  our  city." 

The  Angoumois  catechism  offers  a  fair  specimen 
of  the  weak  and  vapid  pap  with  which  the  youth- 
ful mind  is  usually  fed  in  clerical  schools,  and 
especially  in  those  conducted  by  the  Jesuits.  The 
late  Dr.  DoUinger  of  Munich  relates  his  experience 
with  a  student,  who  had  received  his  preparatory 
training  at  such  an  institute.  In  answer  to  the 
question,  "  What  is  that  branch  of  knowledge  which 
we  call  theology .-' "  the  candidate  for  holy  orders 
replied  with  the  perfunctory  promptness  of  a 
parrot :  "  Theology  is  that  branch  of  knowledge 
which  has  St.  Catherine  for  its  patroness."  "  But 
what  is  the  branch  of  knowledge  of  which  St. 
Catherine  is  the  patroness  .-' "  asked  the  doctor,  and 
received  the  ready  response  :  "  St.  Catherine  is  the 
patroness  of  theology ;  "  and  no  ingenuity  of  in- 
terrogation availed  to  get  the  young  man  out  of 
this  vicious  hagiological  circle.  It  is  by  the  stupe- 
fying effects  of  such  teaching  that  the  supreme 
goal  of  Jesuitical  discipline,  namely,  the  sacrifice 
of  the  intellect  ("  il  sacrificio  dell'  intelletto  "),  can  be 
most  perfectly  attained. 

It  may  seem  strange  that  the  ass  should  have 
been  chosen  as  the  homologue  of  the  cathedral  ; 
but  it  must  be  remembered  that  in  the  Orient  this 
animal  is  noted  for  its  beauty,  strength,  and  in- 
telligence, and   that   our  domestic  donkey  is  the 


2/0  Animal    Symbolism 

degenerate  scion  of  a  noble  stock.  There  is  also 
reason  to  believe  that  this  creature  was  an  object 
of  peculiar  reverence  to  the  early  Christians,  owing 
probably  to  the  fact  that  Christ  made  His  triumphal 
entry  into  Jerusalem  sitting  upon  an  ass,  and  that 
the  animal  still  bears  the  sign  of  the  cross  formed 
by  a  black  bar  across  the  shoulders  intersecting  the 
line  of  the  back.  Plutarch  {Sympos.,  lib.  iv.  5) 
and  Tacitus  {Hist.,  lib.  v.)  assert  that  the  ass  was 
adored  by  the  Jews  because  it  discovered  springs 
of  water  in  the  desert  during  the  exodus,  and  this 
tradition  might  have  easily  been  accepted  by  the 
Christians  as  typical  of  the  Saviour,  the  well-spring 
of  eternal  life.  Tertullian  says  :  "  There  are  some 
who  imagine  that  our  God  has  the  head  of  an  ass," 
and  indignantly  denies  the  truth  of  this  statement, 
which,  nevertheless,  seems  to  have  been  quite 
generally  entertained.  Indeed,  this  ardent  and 
eloquent  apologist  himself  declares  that  the  enemies 
of  the  Gospel  exposed  publicly  a  picture  repre- 
senting a  person  with  a  book  in  his  hand  and 
wearing  a  long  robe,  but  with  the  ears  and  legs  of 
an  ass,  and  under  it  the  inscription  :  "  The  Christian 
God  with  the  ass's  hoof."  Again,  Cecilius  Felix 
remarks  in  the  Dialogue  of  Minutius  Felix :  "  I 
hear  that  this  basest  of  creatures  is  worshipped  by 
the  Christians,  though  I  know  not  upon  what 
inane  persuasion."  In  a  rude  drawing  scrawled  on 
the  walls  of  the  barracks  or  guard-room  on  the 
Palatine,  is  a  man  kneeling  before  a  crucifix,  on 
which  is  a  human  being  with  an  ass's  head,  and  a 


In   Ecclesiastical  Architecture     271 

legend  informs  us  that  this  person  is  "  Anaxomenos 
worshipping  his  God."  Epiphanius  affirms  that  the 
Gnostics  beheved  that  the  Lord  of  Sabaoth  had  an 
ass's  head.^ 

In  the  church  of  Saint-Esprit,  a  suburb  of 
Bayonne,  is  the  wooden  effigy  of  an  ass  bearing  the 
Virgin  and  the  infant  Jesus ;  the  latter  is  holding  a 
bird  in  His  hand.  It  was  originally  in  the  convent 
of  St.  Bernard,  built  in  the  thirteenth  century  and 
now  demolished,  and  is  still  known  as  the  ass  of  St. 
Bernard.  One  belonged  to  each  of  the  cathedrals 
of  Rheims  and  Paris ;  there  is  one  in  Santa  Maria 
in  Organo  at  Verona,  and  formerly  nearly  every 
church  was  provided  with  such  an  image,  of  which 
a  good  specimen  is  now  preserved  in  the  Germanic 
Museum  at  Nuremberg,  It  was  not  an  object  of 
worship,  but  was  used  sometimes  instead  of  the 
living  animal  in  celebrating  the  Feast  of  the  Ass, 
which  took  place  at  Christmas  in  honour  of  Christ's 
entry  into  Jerusalem,  and  likewise  on  the  fourteenth 
of  January,  as  a  memorial  of  the  flight  into  Egypt, 
and  was  one  of  the  most  popular  of  Church  festivals. 

There  is  an  old  tradition  that  the  ass  on  which 
Christ  made  His  entry  into  Jerusalem  left  Judea 
immediately  after  the  Crucifixion,  and  passing  over 
the  sea  dry-shod  to  Rhodes,  Cyprus,  Malta,  Sicily, 
and  Aquileia,  finally  reached  Verona,  where  it  lived 
to  a  very  old  age.  After  its  death  its  bones  were 
collected  and  deposited  in  the  belly  of  the  wooden 
ass  of  Santa  Maria  in  Organo,  which  was  made  as 
1  Cf.  A/males  Archeologiqiies,  xv.  p.  383. 


272  Animal    Symbolism 

a  memorial  of  it  and  in  its  exact  image.  It  was 
once  a  popular  belief,  which  may  yet  linger  among 
the  lower  class  of  Veronese,  that  all  the  asses  of 
that  region  are  scions  of  this  sacred  stock ;  but  their 
supposed  origin  does  not  appear  to  insure  them 
less  cruel  treatment  than  low-born  donkeys  are  sub- 
jected to  in  all  parts  of  Italy. 

An  ass  caparisoned  with  a  cope  and  other  sacer- 
dotal apparel,  and  sometimes  ridden  by  a  young 
girl  with  an  infant  in  her  arms,  was  met  at  the 
principal  entrance  of  the  church  by  the  canons  and 
other  clergy,  and  conducted  up  the  nave  into  the 
chancel.  The  officiating  priests  held  in  their  hands 
urns  or  pitchers  full  of  wine,  and  goblets  of  glass 
or  pewter.  The  censer  contained,  instead  of  the 
usual  fragrant  gums  and  spices,  fat  black-pudding 
and  sausage,  which  in  burning  exhaled  anything 
but  a  pleasant  perfume.  The  Introit,  the  Kyrie,  the 
Gloria,  and  the  Credo  were  sung  in  a  harsh  braying 
tone,  after  which  the  following  ass's  litany  in  Latin 
was  chanted,  the  whole  body  of  the  clergy  and  the 
congregation  joining  vociferously  as  a  chorus  in  the 
refrain,  which  was  French — 

"  Orientis  partibus 
Adventavit  asinus, 
Pulcher  et  fortissimus, 
Sarcinis  aptissimus. 

Hez,  sire  asne,  car  chantez 

Belle  bouche  rdchignez 

Vous  aurez  de  foin  assez, 

Et  de  I'avoine  k  plantd 

"  Lentus  erat  pedibus, 
Nisi  foret  baculus, 


In   Ecclesiastical  Architecture     273 

Et  cum  in  clunibus, 
Pungeret  aculeus. 
Hez,  sire  asne,  etc. 

"  Ecce  magnis  auribus, 
Subjugalis  filius, 
Asinus  egregius, 
Asinorum  dominus. 
Hez,  sire  asne,  etc. 

"  Hie,  in  collibus  Sichem 
Enutritus  sub  Rubem 
Transiit  per  Jordanem, 
Saliit  in  Bethlehem. 
Hez,  sire  asne,  etc. 

"  Saltu  vincit  hinnulos, 
Dagmas  et  capreolos, 
Super  dromedarios 
Velox  madianeos. 
Hez,  sire  asne,  etc. 

"  Aurum  de  Arabia 
Thus  et  myrrham  de  Saba, 
TuHt  in  ecclesia 
Virtus  asinaria. 
Hez,  sire  asne,  etc. 

"  Dum  trahit  vehicula, 
Multa  cum  sarcinula 
IHius  mandibula 
Dura  terit  pabula. 
Hez,  sire  asne,  etc. 

"  Cum  aristis  hordeum 
Comedit  et  carduum 
Triticum  a  palea 
Segregant  in  area. 
Hez,  sire  asne,  etc. 

"Amen  dicas,  asine. 
Jam  satur  ex  gramine, 
Amen,  amen,  itera  ; 
Aspernare  vetera. 
Hez,  sire  asne,  etc." 


274  Animal    Symbolism 

This   remarkable   hymn    may  be  rendered  into 
Enghsh  as  follows — 

"  From  the  regions  of  the  East 
Came  the  ass,  the  worthy  beast, 
Strong  and  fair  beyond  compare, 
Heavy  burdens  fit  to  bear. 

Huzza,  Sir  Ass,  because  you  chant, 
Fair  mouth,  because  you  bray, 
You  shall  have  enough  of  hay, 
And  also  oats  to  plant. 

"  Slow  of  foot  the  beast  would  fare. 
Should  the  staff  you  on  him  spare. 
Or  should  fail  with  many  a  thump 
To  goad  him  on  and  prod  his  rump. 
Huzza,  Sir  Ass,  etc. 

"  Lo,  with  what  enormous  ears 
This  subjugal  son  appears. 
Most  egregious  ass,  we  see 
Lord  of  asses  all  in  thee. 
Huzza,  Sir  Ass,  etc. 

"  He  in  Sichem's  hills  was  bred. 
Under  Reuben's  care  was  fed. 
Passed  through  Jordan's  sacred  stream, 
Skipped  about  in  Bethlehem. 
Huzza,  Sir  Ass,  etc. 

"  Leaping  he  outruns  the  hind, 
Hart  and  he-goat  leaves  behind, 
Dromedaries  doth  surpass 
This  our  swift  and  sturdy  ass. 
Huzza,  Sir  Ass,  etc. 

"  Gold  from  Araby  the  blest. 
Frankincense  that's  much  in  quest, 
To  the  church  a  precious  fraught 
Asinary  strength  hath  brought. 
Huzza,  Sir  Ass,  etc. 


In  Ecclesiastical  Architecture     275 

"  As  he  draws  along  the  cart 
Heavy-laden  to  the  mart, 
He  his  jaws  doth  ever  ply, 
Grinding  fodder  hard  and  dry. 
Huzza,  Sir  Ass,  etc. 

"  Barley  with  the  awn  he  eats, 
And  himself  to  thistles  treats; 
While  on  threshing-floors  are  beat 
From  the  chaff  the  grains  of  wheat. 
Huzza,  Sir  Ass,  etc. 

"Amen  thou  now  mayst  bray,  O  ass. 
Satiate  with  corn  and  grass  ; 
Amen  repeat,  amen  reply. 
And  antiquity  defy. 

Huzza,  Sir  Ass,  etc." 

Sometimes  the  refrain  was  simply  "  Hez,  sire 
ass,  hez  " ;  in  fact,  the  service  as  well  as  the  song 
varied  slightly  in  different  places,  and  was  modified 
somewhat  by  circumstances,  but  the  essential  cha- 
racter of  the  performance  remained  everywhere  the 
same.  The  music  of  this  chant,  which  was  of  a 
grave  and  solemn  character,  befitting  a  religious 
service,  has  been  published  by  M.  Felix  Clement 
in  his  Choix  des  principales  Sequences  des  Moyen 
Age  tirees  des  Manuscrits.  With  a  courage  born 
of  enthusiasm,  M.  Clement  had  this  music  of  the 
thirteenth  century  actually  performed  at  the  Col- 
lege Stanislas,  April  29,  1847,  before  a  select  audi- 
ence, composed  chieflly  of  musicians  of  the  Opera 
and  Conservatoire  of  Paris,  who  are  said  to  have 
received  it  with  applause.^ 

^  Cf.  Didron,  An.  Arch.,  vii.  et  al. 


2/6  Animal    Symbolism 

Not  unfrequently  this  festival  began  in  the 
morning,  and  continued  without  interruption  all 
night  till  the  evening  of  the  following  day.  The 
singing  of  the  anthem,  Condtictus  ad  Pocidum 
("  Brought  to  the  Cup  "),  was  the  signal  for  the  dis- 
tribution of  wine  among  the  choristers,  who  drank 
very  freely,  and  often  got  fuddled.  While  they 
were  thus  refreshing  themselves  with  bottles  of 
wine,  the  ass  was  regaled  with  what  the  trans- 
mogrified Bottom  so  greatly  desired,  "a  bottle  of 
hay  "  and  a  bucket  of  water.  With  the  intonation 
of  the  second  anthem,  Condiictus  ad  Ludos  ("Brought 
to  the  Sports"),  the  ass  was  led  into  the  nave  of  the 
church,  and  danced  round  by  the  priests  and  the 
people,  who  imitated  its  bray.  After  the  dance 
the  ass  was  reconducted  into  the  chancel  and  pro- 
vided with  fresh  rations  of  provender.  The  feast 
ended  with  the  anthem,  Conductus  ad  Prandiiim 
("  Brought  to  the  Banquet "),  which  was  sung  after 
vespers  on  the  second  day,  and  was  an  invitation 
to  the  final  repast.^  At  the  close  of  the  service  the 
priest,  instead  of  uttering  the  usual  formula  of  dis- 
missal, "  Ite,  missa  est,"  broke  forth  into  a  loud 
"  Hee-haw,"  which  he  repeated  three  times  as  a 
parting  benediction  to  the  worshippers,  and  a  trinal 
tribute  to  the  animal  which  formed  the  centre  of 
interest  and  of  homage  in  this  strange  religious 
ceremony. 

There  was  also  a  preparatory  meeting  or  con- 

1  Cf.  William  Hone,  Ancient  Mysteries^  p.  165  ;  London, 
1823. 


In  Ecclesiastical  Architecture      277 

vocation  held  on  the  eve  of  the  feast,  when  the 
clergy  in  full  canonicals  went  in  procession  to 
meet  the  ass  at  the  door  of  the  cathedral,  accom- 
panied by  two  choristers,  who  chanted  the  following 
invocation — 

"  Lux  hodie,  lux  letitise  me  judice  tristis 
Quisquis  erit,  removendus  erit,  solemnibus  istis, 
Sicut  hodie,  procul  invidia,  procul  omnia  moesta, 
Laeta  volunt,  quiscumque  celebret  asinaria  festa." 

"  O  light  to-day,  O  light  of  joy,  I  banish  every  sorrow  ; 

Wherever  found,  be  it  expelled  from  our  solemnities  to- 
morrow. 

Away  with  strife  and  grief  and  care  from  every  anxious 
heart, 

And  all  be  filled  with  mirth  who  in  the  Ass's  Feast  take 
part." 

The  ass  was  then  conducted  to  a  table,  usually  in 
the  vestry,  at  which  the  dean  sat  with  two  pre- 
bendaries, who  read  the  order  of  proceedings  as 
arranged  for  the  following  day,  and  the  names  and 
offices  of  the  participants.  The  ass,  offering  no 
objections,  was  supposed  to  give  silent  consent  to 
the  programme,  which  was  accordingly  approved. 

M.  Pierre  Louvret,  in  his  Histoire  dii  Diocese  de 
Beauvais,  published  in  1635,  gives  an  account  of 
the  manner  in  which  this  feast  was  celebrated  in 
the  cathedral  of  that  city,  whose  bishops  bore  the 
rank  and  title  of  princes,  and  held  the  highest  place 
among  the  civil  and  ecclesiastical  dignitaries  of  the 
realm.  The  ass  in  a  cope,  sculptured  on  an  archi- 
volt  in  St.  Peter's  Church  in  Aulnay,  and  dating 
from  the  twelfth  century,  is  a  survival  of  the  festive 


278  Animal    Symbolism 

observance  just  described  ;  indeed,  the  ass  in  sacer- 
dotal vestments,  painted  in  fresco,  or  more  fre- 
quently carved  in  relief,  may  be  seen  in  many 
sacred  edifices. 

In  an  essay  entitled  L'Ane  au  Moyen-Age,  printed 
in  Didron's  Annales  Archeologiques  (vols,  vii.,  xv., 
and  xvL),  M.  F61ix  Clement  interprets  the  ass  as 
a  symbol  of  the  Saviour,  and  thus  comments  on 
the  first  verse  of  the  ass's  litany :  "  It  is  from 
the  Orient  that  the  light  comes  to  us ;  the  Orient 
is  the  cradle  of  the  human  race;  from  the  Orient 
came  the  wise  men,  the  Magi,  with  whose  gifts 
the  ass  was  laden ;  in  the  Orient  appeared  the 
star  which  guided  them  to  Bethlehem."  He  also 
quotes  St.  Bernard,  who  calls  Jesus  Christ  Oriens 
in  vespere.  Pulcher  refers  to  the  moral  beauty 
of  Christ,  fortissmius  to  His  strength  in  over- 
coming the  great  adversary,  the  prince  of  dark- 
ness, and  in  conquering  death  and  hell,  and  sarcinis 
aptissimus  to  His  fitness  to  bear  the  burden  of  a 
sinful  world,  symbolized  by  the  heavy  weight  of 
the  Cross.  In  the  fourth  verse  Sichem  is  mentioned 
because  it  was  the  ancient  capital  of  Israel  and 
the  chief  place  of  worship  of  the  Samaritans,  and 
Bethlehem  because  Christianity  began  there.  The 
superiority  of  the  ass  to  the  other  animals  enumer- 
ated in  the  fifth  verse  signifies  that  Christ  surpassed 
in  excellence  all  the  Hebrew  prophets.  The  eighth 
verse  indicates  the  office  of  Christ  as  winnower, 
who  with  His  fan  in  His  hand  will  purge  the  floor, 
gathering  the  wheat  into  the  garner,  but  burning 


In  Ecclesiastical  Architecture      279 

the  chaff  with  unquenchable  fire.  Aspernare  Vetera 
impHes  that  old  things  have  passed  away,  and  that 
the  Synagogue  has  been  supplanted  by  the  Church, 
Even  the  refrain  of  the  hymn,  "  Hez,  sire  asne,"  is 
interpreted  as  an  abbreviation  of  "  Hatez  vos  pas, 
divin  Messie,"  and  an  earnest  injunction  to  the 
Lord  Jesus  to  come  quickly  and  complete  the  work 
of  human  redemption.  Nevertheless,  M.  Clement 
does  not  seem  to  have  full  confidence  in  the  cor- 
rectness of  this  explanation,  since  he  afterwards 
proposes  another  theory,  by  which  the  ass  from 
the  East,  so  full  of  strength  and  courage,  becomes 
a  type  of  the  Jewish  people,  the  "  depositary  and 
transmitter  of  the  belief  in  the  true  God." 

But  whatever  symbolism  there  may  have  been 
originally,  or  is  still  discernible  to  the  ecclesio- 
logical  eye  in  this  feast,  was  soon  swallowed  up 
and  lost  sight  of  in  gross  buffoonery,  and  the 
religious  service  degenerated  into  a  sort  of  Saturna- 
lian  amusement,  which  suited  the  coarse  tastes  of 
the  time,  and  is  not  to  be  judged  by  our  modern 
sense  of  the  sacredness  of  things,  or  by  the  standards 
of  delicate  and  even  fastidious  feeling  developed  by 
centuries  of  intellectual  culture  and  inherited  refine- 
ment. The  age  of  faith,  as  it  is  called,  was  not 
at  all  squeamish,  and  did  not  suffer  itself  to  be 
shocked  in  the  slightest  degree  by  grotesque  and 
farcical  exhibitions  in  sacred  places.  Mediaeval 
monks  and  ecclesiastics  were  neither  thin-skinned 
nor  dainty-minded,  and,  like  the  lower  classes  of 
the  people,  from  which  the  great  majority  of  them 


28o  Animal    Symbolism 

sprung,  they  indulged  in  the  coarsest  jokes,  appre- 
ciating and  enjoying  them  all  the  more  when  they 
were  at  the  expense  of  their  cloth.  The  Church 
aimed  to  take  everything  under  her  control,  and 
to  direct  the  pleasures  as  well  as  to  dictate  the 
penances  of  the  masses.  The  bishops,  as  Viollet-le- 
Duc  observes,  preferred  to  throw  open  their  cathe- 
drals to  the  crowd,  and  to  permit  such  jollities 
within  the  consecrated  walls,  rather  than  to  run  the 
risk  of  dangerous  fermentations  of  popular  ideas 
outside.  It  was  especially  necessary  to  maintain 
ecclesiastical  jurisdiction  and  supremacy,  and  not 
let  men  get  the  fatal  notion  into  their  heads  that 
they  could  even  indulge  in  merrimakes  and  pas- 
times otherwise  than  under  the  auspices  of  the  in- 
dulgent Mother  Church.  Such  a  presumption  and 
precedent  would  have  been  as  perilous  to  hierarch- 
ical authority  as  it  would  be  prejudicial  to  medical 
prestige  to  let  a  man  die  without  the  prescription 
of  a  doctor.  Whatever  concerned  the  moral  or 
material  interests  of  the  community,  whether  it 
was  to  rebuke  the  vicious  habits  of  mendicant 
monks  and  wandering  minstrels,  or  to  exterminate 
locusts,  weevils,  and  other  destructive  vermin  by 
anathematisms,  the  Church  did  not  deem  it  alien 
to  her  office  or  injurious  to  her  sanctity  to  draw 
within  her  pale,  and  to  make  contributory  to  her 
power  and  glory. 

The  capitals  of  the  columns  on  the  doorway 
leading  to  the  south  aisle  of  St.  Sebald's  Church  in 
Nuremberg   are    adorned    with    quaint    forms    of 


In  Ecclesiastical  Architecture     281 

beasts  which  are  to  be  interpreted  in  part  as 
ministering  spirits  outside  of  the  precincts  of  the 
sanctuary,  and  in  part  as  types  of  human  weakness 
under  temptation,  and  especially  of  priestly  frailties. 
Guy  de  Munois,  Abbot  of  St.  Germain  d'Auxerre 
(1285 — 1309),  had  for  his  official  seal  the  figure  of  a 
cowled  ape  with  an  abbot's  staff  in  its  hand,  and  the 
legend,  "  Abbe  de  singe  air  main  d'os  serre."  The 
seal  of  the  Bishop  of  Pinon  in  Picardie  was  an  ape 
in  episcopal  robes,  with  crosier  and  mitre.  Ecclesi- 
astical dignitaries,  who  took  delight  in  satirizing 
the  infirmities  of  their  order  and  in  caricaturing 
themselves  and  their  sacred  office,  would  not  find 
anything  offensive  in  celebrating  the  Feast  of  the 
Ass,  and  would  not  scruple  to  permit  animals  in 
copes  and  stoles  to  be  carved  on  the  stalls  and 
portals  of  consecrated  edifices,  or  to  be  represented 
in  painting  and  sculpture  in  the  act  of  burlesquing 
the  holy  Mass  and  the  burial  service. 

Sincere  and  even  ardent  Catholics  did  not  hesitate 
to  ridicule  many  practices  which  were  authorized 
and  encouraged  by  the  see  of  Rome.  Such  was 
the  sale  of  relics,  a  scandalous  abuse  sanctioned  by 
tlie  Church,  but  satirized  by  John  Heywood,  a 
graduate  of  Oxford  and  favourite  of  the  bigoted 
Queen  Mary,  a  zealous  papist,  whom  the  accession 
of  Elizabeth  in  1558  forced  to  take  refuge  on  the 
Continent  at  Mechlin,  where  he  died  towards  the 
close  of  the  sixteenth  century.  In  a  play  called 
"The  Four  P.P.,  a  very  merry  Enterlude  of  a 
Palmer,  a  Pardoner,  a  Pothecary,  and  a  Pedler," 


282  Animal    Symbolism 

this  sturdy  and  scholarly  Romanist  exposes  the 
frauds  perpetrated  by  preaching  friars  as  itinerant 
vendors  of  saints'  bones.  Pardoner  exhibits  and 
extols  the  wonder-working  virtues  of  his  wares,  and 
bids  his  hearers  kiss  with  devotion 

"  Of  All-Hallows  the  blessed  jaw-bone." 

Pothecary,  who  claims  to  be  an  expert  in  antiquities 
of  this  sort,  declares  that  the  relic  is  in  bad  odour, 
and  enough  to  turn  the  strongest  stomach — 

"For  by  All-Hallows,  yet  methinketh 
That  All-Hallows'  breath  stinketh." 

Pardoner  replies  that  Pothecary  must  have  caught 
a  sniff  of  his  own  foul  breath,  and  proceeds  to  cry 
his  merchandise  with  the  impudence  and  volubility 
of  a  mountebank — 

"  Nay,  sirs,  behold,  here  may  ye  see 
The  great  toe  of  the  Trinitie. 
Who  to  this  toe  any  money  vowth, 
And  once  may  role  it  in  his  mouth, 
All  his  life  after,  I  undertake, 
He  shall  never  be  vext  with  toothake." 

To  this  assurance  Pothecary  retorts  sarcastically — 

"  I  pray  you  turn  that  relique  about : 
Either  the  Trinity  had  the  gout, 
Or  else,  because  it  is  three  toes  in  one, 
God  made  it  as  much  as  three  toes  alone." 

Pardoner,  who  has  a  large  assortment  of  "  holy 
particles,"  and  is  not  to  be  bluffed  by  having  a 
seeming  blur  cast  upon  any  one  of  them,  brings  out 
another  specimen  and  says — 


In  Ecclesiastical  Architecture     283 

"  Well,  let  that  pass,  and  look  at  this. 
Here  is  a  relique  that  doth  not  miss 
To  help  the  least  as  well  as  the  most: 
This  is  a  buttock-bone  of  Pentecost." 

He  has  also  "a  slipper  of  one  of  the  seven  sleepers," 
"  an  eye-tooth  of  the  Great  Turk,"  and 

"  a  box  full  of  the  bumblebees 
That  stang  Eve  as  she  sat  on  her  knees, 
Tasting  the  fruit  to  her  forbidden." 

Again,  in  TJie  Pardoner  and  the  Friar  a  similar 
assortment  of  relics  is  exposed  for  sale  :  "  the  great 
toe  of  the  Trinity  " ;  "  All-  Hallows'  jaw-bone,"  an  in- 
fallible antidote  for  poisons  ;  "of  Saint  Michael  eke 
the  brain-pan,"  commended  as  a  specific  for  head- 
ache ;  the  "  bongrace  of  our  gracious  lady,  which 
she  wore  with  her  French  hood  when  she  went  out 
as  a  protection  gainst  sun-burning";  "a  holy  Jew's 
hip-bone,"  which,  if  cooked  in  the  pottage,  will  cure 
a  man  of  jealousy,  and  inspire  him  with  perfect 
confidence  in  the  virtue  of  his  wife,  even  "  had  she 
been  taken  with  friars  two  or  three."  As  the  par- 
doner is  about  to  show  the  pope's  bull  and  other 
credentials  from  Rome,  the  friar  begins  his  sermon, 
and  the  preaching  and  peddling  go  on  simultan- 
eously, until  the  two  competitors  for  popular  favour 
fall  to  blackguarding  each  other,  and  finally  come 
to  blows.  The  village  parson,  with  the  help  of 
"  neighbour  Prat,"  who  acts  as  constable,  tries  to 
separate  them ;  but  his  reverence  is  no  match  for 
the  burly  friar,  and  soon  finds,  to  use  his  own  ex- 
pression, that  he  has  more  tow  on  his  distaff  than  he 


284  Animal   Symbolism 

can  spin,  while  the  pardoner,  who  proves  to  be  as 
adroit  in  pugilism  as  in  pious  mendacity,  quickly 
"  punishes  "  the  officious  Prat. 

The  authors  of  coarse  satires  like  these  were  not 
heretics  or  infidels,  but  staunch  adherents  of  the 
Romish  Church,  who  were  ready  to  endure  exile 
or  to  suffer  death  for  the  faith  that  was  in  them.^ 
That  their  descriptions  of  this  traffic  are  scarcely 
exaggerated  is  proved  by  the  kind  and  quantity  of 
relics  still  preserved  and  exposed  to  adoration  in 
Catholic  churches.  In  the  middle  ages,  when  such 
articles  were  in  great  request,  and  the  bones  of 
saints,  in  the  jargon  of  the  exchange,  were  "  lively" 
and  often  became  "excited,"  the  economical  law  of 
demand  and  supply,  which  is  as  universal  and  un- 
escapable  as  that  of  gravitation,  worked  in  a  marvel- 
lous and  quite  miraculous  way,  and  produced  some 
astounding  results. 

Some  years  ago  a  distinguished  anatomist,  who 
visited  an  old  church  on  the  Hradshin  in  Prague, 
observed  that  a  skeleton  in  one  of  the  shrines  had 
two  right  thigh-bones.  It  was  suggested  that  this 
idiosyncrasy  might  be  due  to  the  transforming  effect 
of  canonization,  and  some  devotees  were  inclined  to 
regard  it  as  a  sign  of  peculiar  sanctity ;  but  only 
the  most  credulous  of  the  faithful  accepted  this  view 
as  an  adequate  explanation  of  the  phenomenon. 
It  was  generally  admitted  that  such  abnormities 

^  Cf.  Dodsley's  Old  Plays,  i.  88,  loi,  etc.;  William  Hone's 
Ancient  Mysteries,  87-88  ;  Hazlitt's  edition  Qi  The  Four  P.P., 
with  modernized  orthography.     London,  1874. 


In  Ecclesiastical  Architecture     285 

of  structure  were  unbecoming  in  persons  whom 
the  public  had  been  taught  to  revere  as  patterns  of 
piety,  and  to  imitate  as  models  of  perfection  ;  and 
although  they  may  have  despised  the  vanities  and 
seductions  of  the  flesh  during  their  lives,  they  ought 
not  to  give  offence  or  occasion  for  scoffing  by  any 
conspicuous  irregularity  in  the  arrangement  of  their 
bones  after  death.  Accordingly  an  inquest  was 
held ;  the  worshipful  relics  were  "  sat  upon  "  by  a 
jury  of  experts,  who,  as  the  result  of  their  investi- 
gations, recommended  a  general  overhauling  and 
reparation  of  the  remains  of  the  saints  kept  in  the 
churches  of  the  Bohemian  capital.  The  celebrated 
anatomist.  Professor  Joseph  Hyrtl,  was  induced  to 
undertake  the  task,  which  had  to  be  performed  with 
the  greatest  secrecy  and  circumspection,  and  he 
finally  succeeded  in  ridding  the  enshrined  skeletons 
of  their  most  obtrusive  deviations  from  the  organism 
of  the  natural  man,  and  establishing  a  certain 
degree  of  harmony  between  the  provinces  of  sacred 
and  scientific  osteology. 

It  must  not  be  inferred,  however,  that  the  saints 
of  Prague  were  exceptional  in  their  variations  from 
the  common  sinful  human  type.  The  critical 
examination  of  all  the  treasuries  of  relics  in  Christ- 
endom would  disclose  the  remains  of  holy  men 
and  of  godly  women  not  a  few,  who  seem  to  have 
had  as  many  arms  as  Briareus,  and  as  many  legs 
as  a  centipede.  It  is  well  known  that  St.  Anna 
had  three  arms,  only  one  less  than  Vishnu  ;  and 
this  tribrachial  characteristic  appears  to  have  been 


286  Animal    Symbolism 

hereditary  in  her  family,  otherwise  it  would  be 
difficult  to  account  for  the  fact  that  one  arm  of 
the  Virgin  Mary  is  revered  in  Rome,  another  in 
Nuremberg,  and  a  third  in  Cologne.  St.  Vitus 
was  unquestionably  quadrumanous ;  one  of  his 
hands  is  in  Sienna  and  another  in  Bamberg,  whilst 
his  entire  skeleton,  including  both  hands,  is  shown 
in  the  cathedral  at  Prague.  Perhaps  the  anthro- 
pologist, who  has  hitherto  searched  for  "the 
missing  link "  among  chimpanzees,  orang-outangs, 
and  other  simian  tribes,  will  at  last  come  upon  the 
object  of  his  quest  in  the  voluminous  and  won- 
drous annals  of  hagiology.  Some  saints  were 
evidently  in  the  habit  of  shedding  their  skulls  at 
different  periods  of  their  growth,  just  as  stags 
throw  off  their  antlers  and  serpents  cast  their  skins. 
This  was  the  case  with  St.  Peter,  whose  skull  as  a 
child  may  be  seen  in  one  shrine,  while  his  fully- 
developed  cranium  as  an  adult  is  kept  in  another. 
As  a  matter  of  convenience  for  future  collectors, 
and  kind  consideration  for  a  devout  posterity, 
such  forethought  is  most  remarkable,  and  cannot 
be  too  highly  praised.  When  the  abbot  Marolles 
of  Amiens  was  shown  a  head  of  John  the  Baptist, 
he  exclaimed  :  "  Glory  be  to  God,  that  is  the  sixth 
head  of  the  Redeemer's  forerunner  I  have  had  the 
good  fortune  to  adore  !  " 

The  miraculous  power  of  self-multiplication  with 
which  the  "  particles  "  of  the  saints  are  endowed 
extends  also  to  their  personal  effects.  There  are 
now    in    existence    about    a    dozen    equally    well 


In  Ecclesiastical  Architecture     287 

authenticated  originals  of  the  seamless  vesture, 
upon  which  the  Roman  soldiers  cast  lots.  The 
most  celebrated  specimen  of  this  garment  is  the 
"  holy  coat  "  in  the  cathedral  of  Trier,  where  it 
has  been  repeatedly  exhibited  as  an  object  of 
worship  and  a  source  of  revenue,  and  even  as 
recently  as  1891  attracted  crowds  of  fetichistic 
pilgrims.  Its  history,  as  recorded  in  a  German 
poem  of  the  twelfth  century  entitled  Orendel, 
surpasses  in  extravagance  the  wildest  inventions 
of  classical  and  Oriental  mythology.  Scores  of 
churches  possess  pieces  of  the  true  cross,  which 
nevertheless  may  be  seen  intact  in  Paris ;  the  same 
is  the  case  with  Aaron's  rod,  a  portion  of  which  is 
at  Bamberg,  although  the  whole  is  in  an  excellent 
state  of  preservation  at  Milan. 

The  superstitious  fondness  for  sacred  relics  in 
the  middle  ages,  like  the  modern  enthusiasm  for 
antiques  and  masterpieces  of  the  Renaissance, 
incited  the  dealers  in  such  wares  to  wholesale 
perpetrations  of  fraud.  The  skeleton  of  many  a 
malefactor,  whose  head  was  deservedly  severed 
from  his  body  by  the  executioner's  axe,  is  now 
revered  as  the  remains  of  a  blessed  martyr  ;  and 
countless  bones,  set  with  jewels  and  deposited  in 
costly  shrines,  were  originally  taken  from  the 
gallows-pit.  That  the  author  of  TJie  Foiir  P.P. 
gave  a  true  picture  of  the  extent  to  which  this 
fraudulent  traffic  was  carried  on,  can  be  clearly 
shown,  as  we  have  already  suggested,  by  examining 
the  lists  of  relics  in  the  older  Catholic  churches. 


288  Animal    Symbolism 

Thus,  for  example,  in  Santa  Prassede  at  Rome, 
among  other  queer  things  of  this  kind,  are  a  tooth 
of  St.  Peter  and  one  of  St.  Paul,  as  well  as  bits 
of  their  respective  skulls,  a  scrap  of  the  Virgin's 
chemise,  a  bottle  of  her  milk,  and  a  piece  of  her 
sepulchre,  fragments  of  the  Saviour's  girdle  and  of 
His  swaddling-clout,  the  pillar  at  which  He  was 
scourged,  some  of  the  earth  on  which  He  kneeled 
in  prayer  before  the  Passion,  the  reed  and  sponge 
with  which  He  was  given  vinegar  to  drink  on  the 
cross,  parts  of  His  vesture  for  which  the  Roman 
soldiers  cast  lots,  and  three  thorns  from  the  crown 
of  thorns  ;  near  by,  in  Santa  Croce  in  Gerusalemme, 
are  the  superscription  which  Pilate  put  on  the 
cross,  one  of  the  thirty  pieces  of  silver  paid  to 
Judas,  and  the  finger  with  which  the  doubting 
Thomas  was  told  to  touch  the  print  of  the  nails 
in  the  hands  of  the  risen  Lord  ;  in  the  cloister 
of  St.  Barbara  in  Coblence  is  the  fore-skin  of  the 
infant  Jesus,  which  in  the  last  century  is  said  to 
have  wrought  a  startling  and  somewhat  unseemly 
miracle  on  one  of  the  nuns.  Before  the  Reform- 
ation, Schaffliausen  was  proud  of  possessing  some 
of  the  breath  of  St.  Joseph  enclosed  in  one  of 
the  gloves  of  Nicodemus ;  Halle  boasted  of  having 
fragments  of  Noah's  ark,  and  of  the  chemise 
worn  by  the  Virgin  during  her  confinement ;  and 
the  church  of  Notre-Dame-en-Vaux  at  Chalons 
guarded  as  a  rare  treasure  the  navel  of  Jesus 
Christ  until  1707,  when  the  rationalistic  bishop 
Noailles    had    it    removed.      An    additional    and 


In  Ecclesiastical  Architecture     289 

exceedingly  strong  evidence  of  the  extent  to  which 
this  utterly  absurd  "  fad "  prevailed,  and  duped 
with  vile  counterfeits  even  the  shrewdest  and  most 
sensible  men,  is  the  fact  that  Duke  Frederic  III., 
surnamed  the  Wise,  the  Elector  of  Saxony  and 
the  protector  of  Luther,  had  a  collection  of  nearly 
four  thousand  relics,  among  which  were  such 
choice  specimens  as  milk  of  the  Virgin,  yarn  which 
she  spun — the  yarn  we  suspect  was  of  the  nautical 
sort,  and  spun  at  a  much  later  period — remains  of 
the  children  slain  in  Bethlehem,  straw  and  hay 
from  the  manger  in  which  Jesus  was  born,  teeth 
and  hair  of  Christ,  and  portions  of  His  raiment. 
Boccaccio,  in  the  Decameron  (Giorn.  vi.,  Nov.  10), 
gives  some  specimens  of  Fra  Cipolla's  sacred  col- 
lection :  the  jaw-bone  of  Lazarus,  a  feather  of  the 
angel  Gabriel,  the  hood  of  the  seraph  which  ap- 
peared to  St.  Francis,  the  toe-nail  of  a  cherub, 
some  vestments  of  the  Holy  Catholic  Faith,  a  finger 
of  the  Holy  Ghost,  a  few  rays  of  the  star  of  Bethle- 
hem, and  a  vial  containing  tones  of  the  bells  of 
Solomon's  temple.  Curiously  enough,  the  scoffing 
poet  took  a  religious  turn  in  the  fiftieth  year  of  his 
age,  and  became  himself  a  diligent  and  devout 
collector  of  religious  relics. 

Coarse  caricatures  and  obscene  characterizations 
of  the  Jews  are  quite  common  in  Christian 
churches.  Thus  on  the  north-east  corner  of  the 
lofty  choir  near  the  roof  in  the  parish  church  at 
Wittenberg  is  a  rude  high-relief,  hewn  in  stone,  of 
a  sow  with  a  litter  of  pigs,  and  among  them  a  lot 

u 


290 


Animal    Symbolism 


Satire  on  the  Jews. 
(Wittenberg  Parish  Church.) 


of  Jews,  who  are  assiduously  sucking  her  dugs  to 
the  dispossession  and  great  discomfort  of  her  own 

young.  Behind  the 
sow  stands  a  rabbi, 
who,  Hfting  her  right 
leg  with  one  hand, 
and  holding  her  by 
the  tail  with  the 
other,  earnestly  en- 
deavours to  peer  into 
her  insides,  as  though 
he  saw  something 
there  worthy  of  his  closest  and  keenest  scrutiny. 
According  to  Luther's  interpretation  of  this  re- 
markable work  of  art,  the  Jewish  doctor  of  the  law 
is  engaged  in  searching  into  the  mysteries  of  the 
Talmud.^ 

Above  this  sculpture  stood  originally  a  semi- 
Hebrew  inscription  in  Latin  characters  :  "  Rabini 
Schemhamphoras,"  which  seems  to  have  accidentally 
disappeared  or  been  purposely  removed  during  the 
restoration  of  the  church  in  1570.  Schemham- 
phoras is  the  hidden  name  of  God,  which,  if  spoken 
or  written,  works  magically  and  is  used  for  con- 

^  "  Es  ist  hie  zu  Wittemberg  an  vnser  Pfarrkirchen  eine 
Saw  in  Stein  gehawen,  da  ligen  junge  Ferckel  vnnd  Jiiden 
vnter,  die  saugen.  Hinder  der  Saw  stehet  eyn  Rabin,  der 
hebt  der  Saw  das  rechte  bein  empor,  und  mit  seiner  lincken 
hand  zeucht  er  den  pirtzel  vber  sich,  biickt  vnnd  kuckt  mit 
grossem  vleis  der  Saw  unter  dem  pirtzel  inn  den  Thalmud 
hinein,  als  wolt  er  etwas  scharffes  vnd  sonderliches  lessen 
und  ersehen." — Dr.  Mar.  Luther,  Von  Schemhamphoras  vnnd 
Ceschlecht  Christi.     Wittenberg,  1543,  4to. 


In  Ecclesiastical  Architecture     291 

juration.  Also  the  passage  describing  the  miracle 
of  the  pillar  of  the  cloud  and  the  division  of  the 
waters  (Ex.  xiv.  19-21)  consists  in  the  original  of 
two  hundred  and  sixteen  letters,  out  of  which  the 
cabalists  form  seventy-two  words  of  three  letters 
each.  They  pronounce  these  words  as  numbers, 
and  understand  by  them  the  names  of  seventy-two 
angels,  which  correspond  to  as  many  special 
powers  and  attributes  of  God,  and  are  exceedingly 
potent  as  charms.^ 

A  rhymed  chronicle  preserved  in  the  city 
archives  of  Wittenberg  states  that  the  aforesaid 
relief  was  intended  to  deride  and  vex  the  Jews, 
who,  by  their  chafferings  and  bickerings  on  Sunday 
near  the  sanctuary,  disturbed  and  scandalized  all 
good  Christians.  After  due  deliberation,  it  was 
resolved  to  have  this  work  made  in  order  to  heap 
contempt  upon  the  Jews,  and  to  compel  them  to 
seek  some  other  place  of  barter.  The  ingenious 
plan,  the  chronicler  informs  us,  was  crowned  with 
complete  success,  and  the  Hebrew  traffickers  felt 
so  insulted  that  they  not  only  ceased  to  transact 
their  business  in  the  vicinity  of  the  church,  but 
gradually  withdrew  wholly  from  the  city. 

This  explanation  is  a  mere  afterthought  and 
pure  invention,  and  is  not  sustained  by  any  his- 
torical records,  nor  is  it  at  all  probable  that  the 
Christians  of  Wittenberg  would  have  been  obliged 
to  resort    to  such   indirect    means    of  suppressing 

1  Cf.  Zeitschrijt  fiir  deuische  KuUurgeschichte^  i.  463  sqq. 


292  Animal    Symbolism 

the  alleged  abuse.  In  cases  of  this  kind,  they 
were  not  wont  to  deal  in  innuendoes,  but  to  take 
more  summary  measures.  Besides,  similar  repre- 
sentations exist  elsewhere.  Thus,  on  one  of  the 
buttresses  on  the  north  side  of  the  church  of  St. 
Nicholas  in  Zerbst,  the  former  capital  of  the 
principality  of  Anhalt,  is  the  relief  of  a  sow  with 
two  Jews  sucking  her  teats,  while  two  others  are 
holding  her  fast  by  the  head  and  tail.  It  was 
carved  there  as  a  memorial  of  the  banishment  of 
the  Jews  from  that  city,  as  can  be  proved  by 
existing  documents  ;  and  the  Wittenberg  sculpture 
had  undoubtedly  the  same  origin,  and  was  intended 
to  satirize  Jewish  extortion  and  greed  of  gain. 
It  is  well  known  that  a  pretty  general  persecution 
and  banishment  of  the  Jews  took  place  in  1348 
and  1 349  under  divers  pretexts ;  among  other 
accusations  was  that  of  producing  pestilence  by 
poisoning  the  wells,  the  pollution  of  the  water  caused 
by  the  common  filthiness  of  the  inhabitants  being 
ascribed  to  the  wickedness  of  one  class  of  the 
population. 

There  is  no  doubt  that  the  position  to  which 
Christian  intolerance  condemned  the  Jews  for 
many  centuries,  closing  to  them  all  branches  of 
industry  except  usury,  developed  in  them  a  peculiar 
talent  for  finance,  together  with  certain  hard  and 
offensive  traits  of  character  naturally  growing  out 
of  money  brokerage,  and  finally  becoming  almost 
innate  and  hereditary.  In  the  middle  ages  they 
were  made  to  serve  as  sponges   to   suck   up   the 


In   Ecclesiastical  Architecture     293 

people's  substance  in  order  that  it  might  be 
squeezed  out  of  them  at  the  convenience  of  the 
rulers.  King  John  II.,  surnamed  the  Good,  issued 
in  1360  a  decree  permitting  the  Jews  in  his  realm 
to  take,  as  a  compensation  for  loaning  money, 
"  quatre  deniers  par  livre  par  semaine,"  equivalent 
to  ninety  per  cent,  per  annum,  not  from  any  feeling 
of  favouritism  for  the  Israelites,  but,  as  he  ex- 
pressly stated,  because  "  the  greater  the  privileges 
enjoyed  by  the  Jews  in  this  respect,  the  better 
they  will  be  able  to  pay  the  taxes  levied  on  them 
by  the  king."  This  "  good  "  monarch  was  wont  to 
confiscate  periodically  a  large  portion  of  the  pillage 
thus  obtained,  in  order  to  replenish  his  exhausted 
exchequer,  and  was  actually  praised  by  his  deluded 
subjects  for  punishing  Jewish  rapacity.  It  was  a 
crafty  system  of  indirect  taxation  worthy  of  modern 
tariff  legislators.  Also  in  the  early  part  of  the 
thirteenth  century,  Frederic  II.,  the  Hohenstaufe, 
ordained  that  the  Jews  should  be  permitted  to 
dwell  in  Nuremberg  and  to  lend  money  on  interest, 
stating  that,  "  inasmuch  as  this  sinful  business  is 
essential  to  trade  and  to  the  commerical  prosperity 
of  the  city,  it  would  be  a  lesser  evil  to  let  the  Jews 
carry  it  on,  than  that  Christians  should  imperil  the 
salvation  of  their  souls  by  such  iniquitous  practices, 
since  the  former,  owing  to  their  notorious  obduracy, 
will  doubtless  persist  in  their  religious  perversity 
and  be  damned  anyhow."  If  the  children  of  Israel 
now  "take  a  breed  of  barren  metal,"  as  naturally 
as  a  pointer  takes  to  pointing,  or  a  hound  to  the 


294  Animal    Symbolism 

trail  of  a  fox,  this  tendency  is  due  in  part  at  least 
to  circumstances  which  they  did  not  create  and 
could  not  control.  The  chief  accusation  brought 
against  the  modern  representatives  of  this  race  by 
Anti-Semitic  agitators,  is  that  they  are  unwilling 
to  follow  industrial  and  especially  agricultural 
pursuits,  in  utter  forgetfulness  of  the  fact  that,  until 
a  comparatively  recent  date,  they  were  forbidden 
by  Christian  legislation  either  to  engage  in  me- 
chanical occupations  or  to  own  land,  a  condition  of 
things  still  existing  in  portions  of  Russia  and  other 
half-civilized  countries. 

The  gross  method  of  outraging  the  feelings  just 
described  had  not  even  the  merit  of  being  original 
with  those  who  employed  it.  The  Emperor  Hadrian, 
after  having  suppressed  the  revolt  of  Bar-Cochba 
and  recaptured  Jerusalem,  A.D.  135,  caused  images 
of  swine  to  be  sculptured  over  the  gates  of  the  city 
as  a  sign  of  the  exclusion  of  the  Jews,  who  were 
forbidden  to  dwell  within  the  walls.  He  then  re- 
stored it  as  a  Roman  city  under  the  name  of  -^lia 
Capitolina,  and  converted  the  tabernacle  of  Jehovah 
into  a  temple  dedicated  to  Jupiter.^ 

On  the  synagogue  in  Heidingsfeld  is  an  armorial 
shield,  on  which  are  emblazoned  two  swine.  It  is 
the  escutcheon  of  the  Prince  Bishop  of  Wurzburg, 
Adam  Friedrich  von  Seinsheim,  who  had  it  placed 
there  instead  of  the  arms  of  Heidingsfeld,  which 
the  Jews  wished  to  adorn  their  sanctuary  with,  but 

^  Cf.  Adrichomius,  Descriptio  urbis  Hierosolymorum. 


In  Ecclesiastical  Architecture     295 


v/ere  forbidden  by  the  magistracy  to  use  for  this 
purpose.  The  Rabbis  were  obhged  to  accept  these 
heraldic  porkers  as  gosh  or  ceremonially  clean  in 
consecrating  the  edifice. 

A  painting  formerly  on  the  lower  part  of  the 


Satire  on  the  Jews.    {Tower  of  Bridge  at  Frankfort.') 

tower  of  the  bridge  across  the  Main  in  Frankfort 
represented  an  old  Jew  with  spectacles  on  his  nose 
sitting  backwards  on  an  enormous  sow,  and  holding 
her  tail  in  his  right  hand.  A  young  Jew  is  lying 
on  his  back  under  the  sow  and  eagerly  sucking  her 


296  Animal    Symbolism 

dugs ;  another  old  Jew  is  kneeling  on  the  ground 
and  receiving  the  sow's  excrement  into  his  mouth, 
while  Satan  with  hoofs  and  horns  steals  up  behind 
him  and  seizes  him  by  the  shoulder.  Standing  a 
little  to  one  side  is  a  Jewess  arrayed  in  fine  attire, 
holding  a  goat  (the  symbol  of  lechery)  by  the 
horns  and  looking  the  devil  boldly  in  the  face  ; 
underneath  the  picture  is  the  following  verse  : 

"  Sauf  du  die  Milch,  friss  du  den  Dreck, 
Das  ist  doch  euer  bestes  Geschleck." 

"  Drink  the  milk  and  eat  the  dung, 
That's  a  dainty  for  your  tongue." 

Above  is  the  naked  and  scarred  body  of  a  Chris- 
tian child,  reputed  to  be  the  victim  of  a  ritual 
murder  committed  by  the  Jews  in  the  year  1275. 
This  is  the  description  of  the  painting  in  its  original 
form.  Other  accounts  differ  somewhat  from  this 
one,  probably  owing  to  the  disappearance  of  por- 
tions of  it  in  the  lapse  of  time,  and  to  the  intro- 
duction of  slight  changes  by  later  renovators. 
The  Jews  of  Frankfort  offered  large  sums  of  money 
to  have  it  removed,  but  in  vain ;  only  a  finer  sense 
of  propriety,  and  a  higher  standard  of  public  decency, 
resulting  from  the  progress  of  civilization,  availed 
to  do  away  with  the  scandalous  libel.^ 

^  Engravings  of  this  painting  are  published  in  Der 
Antiquarius  des  Neckar-  Main-  Lahn-  unci  Moselstroms, 
Frankfurt  a.  M.,  1740,  p.  342;  and  in  Scheible's  Schaltjahr, 
iii.  p.  212.  The  former  corresponds  to  the  description  just 
given  ;  in  the  latter  a  tree  stands  in  the  place  of  the 
Jewess.  Cf.  also  Schm\A.t,JiidischeMerkwtidi£keiien,  1741, 
ii.  256  sqq. 


In  Ecclesiastical  Architecture     297 

A  sow  with  two  Jews  as  sucklings  is  carved 
on  one  of  the  stalls  of  the  choir  in  Bale  Minster; 
and  in  the  cathedral  of  Magdeburg  a  chapel 
dedicated  to  the  Virgin  Mary  contains  a  similar 
representation,  dating  from  the  fifteenth  century. 
It  is  a  strange  irony  of  fate  that  the  Jewish  race 
should  be  thus  held  up  to  derision  in  a  place 
especially  devoted  to  the  worship  of  a  Jewish 
maiden.  Among  the  gargoyles  on  the  collegiate 
church  (Stiftskirche)  of  Wimpfen  im  Thai,  a  fine 
Gothic  edifice  of  the  thirteenth  century,  is  the  figure 
of  a  Jew  sucking  a  sow  and  pushing  aside  a  little 
pig,  which  is  anxious  to  have  its  turn  at  the 
maternal  breast.  Sculptures  of  a  like  character 
are  found  on  the  city  hall  (Rathhaus)  of  Salzburg, 
on  the  chapel  of  St.  Anna  in  Heiligenstadt  on  the 
Leine,  and  among  the  grotesque  carvings  with 
which  a  monk  adorned  the  high  altar  and  the  stalls 
of  the  chancel  in  the  church  at  Heilbrunn,  founded 
in  1 1 32,  and  once  famous  as  a  place  of  pilgrimage. 

The  Jew  suckled  by  a  sow  seems  to  have  been 
the  one  great  Anti-Semitic  joke  of  the  middle  ages, 
and,  judging  from  its  frequent  repetition  and  wide 
diffusion,  must  have  been  regarded  as  a  wonder- 
fully clever  and  altogether  matchless  stroke  of 
Christian  wit  and  satire.  It  was  chiselled  on  the 
cathedral  of  Ratisbon,  probably  at  the  time  of  the 
expulsion  of  the  Jews  from  that  city  in  15 19,  an 
event  of  sufficient  importance  to  be  deemed  worthy 
of  commemoration  by  an  inscription  on  an  apothe- 
cary's shop   in  Kelheim  :    "Anno  Dom.  15 19  jar 


298  Animal    Symbolism 

wurden  die  juden  zu  Rengsburg  ausgeschafft."  It 
occurs  again  in  the  cathedral  of  Praising  on  the 
Isar  with  the  following  distich,  which  takes  a  rather 
discouraging  view  of  the  missionary  work  under- 
taken by  the  Society  for  the  Propagation  of  the 
Gospel  among  the  Jews — 

"  So  wahr  die  Maus  die  Katz  nit  frisst, 
Wird  der  Jud  kein  wahrer  Christ." 

"  Sure  as  the  mouse  the  cat  won't  chew, 
No  Jew  '11  become  a  Christian  true." 

The  promoters  of  such  proselytism  may  derive 
some  consolation  from  the  fact  that  the  ambiguity 
caused  by  the  feminine  gender  of  "  Maus "  and 
"  Katz,"  either  of  which  may  be  the  subject  or  the 
object  of  the  verb,  render  it  possible  for  this  rather 
clumsy  verse  to  be  so  construed  as  to  express  the 
very  opposite  of  the  sentiment  intended  by  the 
rhymster. 

Jews  formerly  complained  of  being  obliged  to 
take  an  oath  standing  on  a  swine's  skin,  but  this 
method  of  swearing  may  have  been  a  survival  of 
the  old  German  custom  of  solemnly  affirming  the 
truth  of  any  statement  by  the  golden-bristled  boar, 
Gullinbursti,  sacred  to  the  sun-god  Freyr,  which 
the  Jews  would  naturally  look  upon  as  a  parti- 
cular grievance  and  intentional  persecution.  The 
Romans  sacrificed  a  swine  in  forming  treaties  and 
making  alliances,  and  the  animal  was  also  in  this 
case  a  symbol  of  the  sun,  the  great  revealer  of 
secrets  and  detecter  of  falsehood.     In  the  Eumenides 


In  Ecclesiastical  Architecture     299 

of  ^schylus,  Apollo  the  purger  ('ATroAAoiy  KaOdpanos) 
cleanses  Orestes  from  the  stains  of  matricidal  pol- 
lution with  swine's  blood,  and  Circe  purifies  the 
Argonauts,  the  abettors  of  the  murder  of  Absyrtus, 
in  the  same  manner. 

It  would  be  foreign  to  the  purpose  of  the  pre- 
sent work  to  describe  the  various  means  devised  to 
throw  derision  upon  the  Jews  ;  only  such  satirical 
delineations  as  are  conspicuously  connected  with 
ecclesiastical  architecture  come  within  its  scope.^ 
It  would  be  unjust,  however,  not  to  mention  the 
heroic  spirit  of  self-sacrifice  which  such  trials  tended 
to  develop,  and  of  which  the  following  is  a  note- 
worthy instance.  During  a  religious  procession  in 
Worms,  a  report  was  spread  abroad  that  a  crucifix 
had  been  mutilated.  Of  course  the  Jews,  who  served 
as  scapegoats  for  all  such  offences,  were  accused  of 
the  sacrilege,  and  a  mob  of  Christian  zealots,  hasten- 
ing to  the  Jews'  quarter,  demanded  with  loud  cries 
the  surrender  of  the  culprits,  and  threatened,  in  case 
of  refusal,  to  wreak  vengeance  on  the  whole  Jewish 
population.  A  three  days'  respite  was  granted  in 
order  to  discover  the  persons  who  had  committed  the 
outrage.  Towards  evening  two  Hebrew  strangers 
appeared  at  the  closed  entrance  to  the  Jewry  and 

^  The  reader  who  is  interested  in  the  general  subject  is 
referred  to  F.  L.  Bosigk's  essay  "  Ueber  die  Judenspottbilder 
des  Mittelalters"  in  Zeitschrift  fiir  deutsche  Kiilturge- 
schichtCy  i.  463-469;  and  to  Strobel's  Geistliches  detiisches  Kar- 
tenspiel,  pubHshed  in  1691  at  Sulzbach,  and  containing  an 
account  of  Schellensau,  a  game  of  cards  designed  to  ridicule 
the  Jews. 


300  Animal    Symbolism 

begged  for  admittance.  They  were  informed  of 
the  terrible  fate  impending  over  the  whole  Israelitic 
community,  but  insisted  in  sharing  the  lot  of  their 
brethren,  whatever  it  might  be.  At  the  expiration 
of  the  three  days'  grace  the  infuriated  and  fanatical 
rabble  assembled  again  at  the  gate  of  the  ghetto  and 
clamoured  for  the  punishment  of  the  sacrilegists. 
Then  the  two  stranger  guests  gave  themselves  up 
as  the  guilty  ones,  and  were  put  to  death.  In  the 
old  synagogue  at  Worms  are  two  ever-burning 
lamps,  which,  as  a  Hebrew  inscription  informs  us, 
were  lighted  in  memory  of  two  unknown  men, 
who  innocently  suffered  a  cruel  death  for  the  sake 
of  their  brethren. 

Classical  mythology  was  another  source  from 
which  Christian  symbolism  derived  many  concep- 
tions and  forms  subsequently  embodied  in  ecclesi- 
astical architecture.  It  could  hardly  be  expected 
that  the  first  Gentile  converts,  however  sincere  in 
their  profession  of  the  new  faith,  would  be  able  to 
break  away  entirely  from  the  teachings  and  tradi- 
tions of  their  early  life  and  education.  They  were 
also  told  that  the  pagan  religions  were  not  merely 
old  wives'  fables,  but  had  a  certain  heavenly 
origin  and  historical  justification  as  preparatory  to 
Christianity,  which  they  foreshadowed.  The  real 
significance  and  raison  d'etre  of  the  deities  of 
Olympus  were  to  be  sought  in  their  prototypical 
relation  to  the  expiatory  sacrifice  on  Mount  Cal- 
vary. Hermes,  who  was  represented  in  heathen 
works   of  art   as  the  protector  of  the  herds,  the 


In  Ecclesiastical  Architecture     301 

conductor  of  souls,  and  the  reviver  of  the  dead, 
would  be  readily  accepted  as  prefigurative  of  the 
Saviour  of  mankind,  and  Perseus  rescuing  Andro- 
meda as  signifying  Christ  redeeming  the  human 
soul.  On  a  sarcophagus  in  the  Museo  Pio-Clemen- 
tino  at  Rome  is  the  relief  of  a  satyr  bearing  a 
lamb,  and  having  features  strongly  resembling  those 
of  the  traditional  good  shepherd.  There  is  no 
doubt,  too,  that  the  fear  of  persecution  led  the 
Christians  of  the  first  century  to  make  this  sym- 
bolical use  of  the  old  mythology ;  and  it  may  have 
been  the  same  dictate  of  prudence  that  prevented 
them  from  encircling  the  head  of  Christ  with  a 
nimbus,  the  earliest  example  of  which,  in  the 
catacomb  of  St.  Domitilla,  belongs  to  the  beginning 
of  the  second  century. 

Some  of  the  Fathers  held  the  views  still  enter- 
tained by  Mr.  Gladstone,  that  all  mythologies  are 
corruptions  and  distortions  of  a  primitive  revela- 
tion supernaturally  communicated  to  "  the  chosen 
people."  The  applications  of  this  theory  are  some- 
times very  odd.  Thus  it  was  affirmed  that  the 
ass's  colt  bound  to  the  vine  mentioned  by  the 
patriarch  Jacob  in  blessing  Judah  (Gen.  xlix.  11) 
is  not  only  a  prefiguration  of  Christ's  entry  into 
Jerusalem,  but  also  the  original  source  of  the  myths 
of  Bacchus,  Bellerophon,  and  Pegasus.  The  asin- 
inity  of  many  a  one  who  essays  to  bestride  the 
winged  horse  of  the  Muses  is  lamentably  true  ;  but 
that  the  fiery  steed  itself  is  the  foal  of  Shiloh's  ass 
may  be  reasonably  questioned.     Isaiah  prophesies 


302  Animal    Symbolism 

that  a  virgin  shall  conceive  and  bear  a  son ;  and 
nothing  is  more  common  than  for  Orientals  to 
speak  of  the  first-born  as  the  child  of  a  virgin  ;  but 
the  patristic  exegetist  maintains  that  this  passage, 
besides  being  a  prediction  of  the  birth  of  Christ, 
suggested  to  the  Greeks  the  legend  of  Danae,  the 
mother  of  Perseus.  In  like  manner  the  labours 
and  wanderings  of  Hercules  are  based  upon  the 
Psalmist's  description  of  the  bridegroom,  who 
rejoiceth  as  a  strong  man  to  run  a  race,  and  whose 
going  forth  is  from  the  end  of  the  heaven.  Whim- 
seys  of  this  kind  have  been  long  since  relegated  to 
the  waste-garret  of  mythological  curiosities ;  but 
they  are  not  a  whit  more  extravagant  than  many 
hermeneutical  expositions  still  in  vogue. 

The  magic  power  ascribed  to  the  music  of 
Orpheus,  which  tamed  wild  beasts  and  even  moved 
trees  and  stones,  was  applied  to  the  miraculous 
power  of  Christ,  who  declared,  on  His  entry  into 
Jerusalem,  in  reply  to  the  protests  of  the  Pharisees 
against  the  noisy  enthusiasm  of  the  people,  that,  if 
the  multitude  should  hold  their  peace,  the  stones 
would  immediately  cry  out.  The  descent  of  the 
mythical  Greek  poet  and  minstrel  into  the  lower 
world,  and  his  success  in  rescuing  his  spouse 
Eurydice  from  the  dominion  of  Pluto,  rendered  the 
analogy  more  complete,  and  may  have  given  rise 
to  the  legend  of  Christ's  descent  into  hell  for  the 
purpose  of  delivering  the  imprisoned  spirits, 
Orpheus  thus  became  a  prototype  of  the  Saviour, 
and  as  such  found  a  place  in  the  Christian  pantheon 


In  Ecclesiastical  Architecture     303 

at  a  very  early  period.  In  the  centre  of  the  ceiling 
of  a  cubiculum  in  the  catacomb  of  St.  Domitilla  near 
Rome,  we  see  him  seated  on  a  rock  and  playing  on 
his  lyre,  surrounded  by  beasts  and  birds,  which  his 
music  has  attracted  to  the  spot.  He  figures 
frequently  on  Christian  sarcophagi  and  in  the 
frescoes  of  old  churches. 

The  Bacchanal  scenes  which  adorned  the  temples 
of  the  son  of  Semele  were  copied  or  imitated  by 
the  early  Christians  in  order  to  illustrate  the  con- 
ception of  the  Church  as  a  vineyard,  v/hich  is 
expressed  in  the  parables  of  the  householder  and 
his  husbandmen,  and  of  the  labourers.  An  interest- 
ing example  of  this  adaptation  is  seen  in  the 
mosaics  of  the  fourth  century  in  the  cupola  of 
St.  Costanza  in  Rome,  representing  the  genii  of 
the  vintage. 

In  the  Gothic  choir  of  the  minster  at  Aix-la- 
Chapelle  is  an  ambo,  dating  from  the  early  part  of 
the  eleventh  century,  v^^ith  ivory  reliefs  of  a  similar 
but  still  more  elaborate  character :  Bacchus  with 
the  symbols  of  his  cult,  the  vine,  the  lion,  the 
panther,  and  the  dog.  Pan  and  the  satyrs,  the 
triumph  of  Galatea,  centaurs,  sirens,  tritons,  nereids, 
dolphins,  the  sea-born  Venus,  Cupids  blowing  shells 
as  trumpets,  and  the  m.yths  of  Demeter  and  Isis 
and  Horus  in  their  assumed  prefigurative  relation 
to  the  Virgin  Mary. 

Scenes  from  the  pagan  poets  were  occasionally 
portrayed,  as,  for  example,  in  the  curious  sculptures 
of  the  twelfth  century  on  a  column  in  the  choir  of 


304  Animal    Symbolism 

the  cathedral  church  of  Bale,  giving  in  four  reliefs 
the  old  Babylonian  tale  of  the  tragic  fate  of  "a 
pair  of  star-crossed  lovers,"  Pyramus  and  Thisbe 
as  related  by  Ovid  in  the  fourth  book  of  the 
Metamorphoses.  In  the  first  scene  Thisbe  has 
taken  refuge  in  a  tree,  at  the  foot  of  which  a  lion 
is  rending  her  mantle,  while  Pyramus  approaches 
with  an  uplifted  sword  to  slay  the  lion,  which  has 
a  bit   of  Thisbe's    mantle   in  its   mouth.     In   the 


Pyramus  and  Thisbe.     (^Cathedral  of  Bale.') 

second  scene  Pyramus  is  smiting  the  Hon.  He 
then  goes  in  search  of  Thisbe,  but,  not  finding  her, 
is  convinced  that  she  has  been  devoured  by  the 
savage  beast,  and  in  a  fit  of  despair  falls  on  his 
own  sword.  Thisbe  now  returns  to  the  place  of 
rendezvous,  and  seeing  her  lover  dead  throws  her- 
self upon  his  sword.  The  final  relief  shows  them 
both  pierced  through  by  the  same  weapon.  This 
story  of  youthful  passion  thwarted  by  cruel  parents 
was  exceedingly  popular  in  the  middle  ages,  and 


In  Ecclesiastical  Architecture     305 

was  therefore  fitly  chosen  by  Shakespeare  to  be 
theatrically  caricatured  by  Nick  Bottom  the  weaver, 
Peter  Quince  the  carpenter,  and  other  "  rude 
mechanicals,"  as  an  episode  of  A  Midsiimnier- 
Nighfs  Dream,  from  which  it  was  taken  by  Andreas 
Gryphius  in  his  Absiirda  Coniica  oder  Herr  Peter 


Pyramus  and  Thisbe.     (Cathedral  of  Bdle.) 

Squenz.  What  religious  significance  the  reliefs  in 
Bale  Minster  may  have  it  would  be  difficult  to 
determine.  The  lion  which  disturbs  the  meeting 
of  the  lovers,  and  eventually  causes  them  to  commit 
suicide,  probably  denotes  the  snares  and  terrors  of 
Satan. 

After  the  conversion  and  accession  of  Constan- 
tine,  it  was  the  settled  policy  of  the  Christians  to 
erect  their  churches  on  the  sites  of  demolished 
pagan  temples,  in  order  that  the  people  might 
the  more  readily  assemble  for  the  worship  of  the 
true  God  in  the  places  where  they  had  been  wont 

X 


3o6  Animal    Symbolism 

to  pay  their  devotions  to  idols.  Gregory  the  Great, 
towards  the  end  of  the  sixth  century,  wrote  a  letter 
of  instructions  to  the  missionaries  to  the  Anglo- 
Saxons  directing  them  to  pursue  this  plan.  Some- 
times the  ancient  edifice  was  simply  transformed 
and  reconsecrated  to  the  new  cult,  in  which  case 
the  statues  and  symbols  of  the  heathen  deities 
remained  and  received  a  Christian  signification  as 
objects  of  worship.  Thus  the  Florentine  Baptistery 
superseded  a  temple  dedicated  to  Mars,  and  John 
the  Baptist  succeeded  the  Roman  god  of  war  as 
the  patron  and  protector  of  the  city.  The  statue 
of  Mars,  which  once  adorned  the  temple,  was 
placed  on  a  tower,  but  was  taken  down  when 
Attila  sacked  the  city  in  452,  and  thrown  into  the 
Arno,  from  which  it  was  subsequently  recovered 
and  set  up  on  a  bridge,  where  it  was  still  standing 
in  the  fourteenth  century,  as  is  evident  from  the 
references  to  it  by  Dante. ^ 

In  the  gallery  of  the  Vatican  are  two  portrait 
statues  of  the  Greek  comic  poets,  Posidippus  and 
Menander,  made  of  Pentelican  marble  probably  by 
Kephisodotos,  the  son  of  Praxiteles,  for  the  theatre 
at  Athens.  After  their  discovery  in  Paneperna 
towards  the  end  of  the  sixteenth  century  they  were 
for  a  long  time  adored  as  saints.  Under  the 
church  of  S.  Clemente  in  Rome  is  a  temple  dedi- 
cated to  the  worship  of  Mithras,  with  the  ancient 
altar  still   standing.     In  a   village  church  on  the 

J  Cf.  Inf.,  xiii.  143-15°  5  P(^^->  ^vi-  49,  I45- 


In   Ecclesiastical  Architecture     307 


Danube,  not  far  from  Linz,  is  a  statue  of  I  sis  made 
of  black  basalt,  to  which  pious  Catholics  pay  their 
devotions,  regarding  it  as  an  image  of  the  Virgin 
Mary.  A  statue  of  the  same  goddess  was  wor- 
shipped in  the  church  of  St.  Germain  des  Pres  in 
Paris  for  nearly  ten  centuries.  This  church  was 
originally  built  by  Childebert  I.  about  the  middle  of 
the  sixth  century  on  the  ruins  of  a  temple  of  I  sis, 
whose  image  was  transferred  to  the  new  edifice, 
where  it  was  an  object  of  adoration  till  15 14,  when 
it  was  destroyed.  Three  gilded  bronze  statues  of 
Alemannic  gods  were  revered  in  the  chapel  of  St. 
Aurelia  at  Bregenz,  until  St.  Gallus  in  his  prose- 
lytic  zeal  broke  them  in  pieces  and  threw  them 
into  the  lake  in  order  to  put  an  end  to  this  idolatry. 
Underneath  the  church  of  the  Benedictine  cloister 
of  St.  Martin  near  Trier  was  found,  at  the  time  of 
its  demolition  in  1802,  an  altar  with  reliefs  of 
Bellona,  Minerva,  Mercury,  and  Hercules.  As  late 
as  the  sixteenth  century  a  marble  statue  of 
Hercules  slaying  the  Nemean  lion  stood  in  the 
vestibule  of  St.  Ambrosius  in  Milan ;  and  in  St. 
Pietro  in  Cora  the  marble  altar  of  a  temple  of 
Hercules  served  as  a  font,  on  the  front  of  which 
was  carved  the  head  of  Apollo  encircled  with  a 
halo  as  a  solar  deity.  Antique  sarcophagi  and 
cinerary  urns  were  often  used  as  Christian  fonts 
and  stoups.  This  origin  accounts  for  the  reliefs 
representing  the  myth  of  Hippolytus  on  the  font, 
or  what  was  formerly  the  font,  in  the  cathedral  of 
Girgenti,  and  for  the  scenes  from  the  infancy  of 


3o8  Animal    Symbolism 


Bacchus  on  a  vessel  which  once  served  as  a 
baptismal  ewer  in  the  cathedral  of  Gaeta,  but  is 
now  in  the  Neapolitan  Museum. 

Cameos  and  other  carved  stones  representing 
mythological  personages  or  narrations  were  prized 
merely  as  jewels,  and  set  as  ornaments  in  crosiers, 
crosses,  and  the  shrines  of  saints,  without  regard 
to  the  subjects  engraved  upon  them.  In  the  so- 
called  cross  of  Lothair  in  the  minster  of  Aix-la- 
Chapelle  is  an  amethyst,  on  which  the  three  Graces 
are  carved  in  relief;  the  story  of  Leda  and  the 
swan  is  cut  on  a  canonical  seal  of  the  twelfth 
century;  and  an  ivory  reliquary  in  the  Schloss- 
kirche  of  Quedlinburg  is  studded  with  precious 
stones,  among  which  is  an  amethyst  wrought  into 
the  head  of  Bacchus.^ 

The  earliest  Christian  art  was  purely  symbolical, 
rudely  indicating  instead  of  fully  expressing  the 
idea  it  was  intended  to  convey.  Thus  a  simple 
cross  symbolized  the  doctrine  of  the  Atonement, 
and  it  was  not  until  a  later  period  that  the  figure 
of  Christ  was  afifixed  to  the  cross,  which  thus 
became  a  crucifix,  and  gradually  acquired  an 
artistic  character.  So,  too,  the  cross-bearing  Iamb 
or  Agnus  Dei,  the  Good  Shepherd,  and  similar 
emblems,  have  no  claim  to  be  regarded  as  works  of 
art,  but  were  nothing  more  than  hieroglyphics  or 
monograms.  This  was  due  not  so  much  to  the 
inwardness    or    spirituality   of  the    new    religion 

*  Cf.  Piper,  Myth,  der  christl.  Kunst,  i.  59-63,  for  numerous 
examples  of  this  kind. 


In   Ecclesiastical  Architecture     309 

doctrinally,  as  to  its  crudeness  and  incapacity 
artistically.  The  best  productions  of  early  Chris- 
tian art  are  copies  or  close  imitations  of  contem- 
porary pagan  art,  such  as  tutelar  genii,  victories, 
Amor  and  Psyche  taken  as  emblems  of  the  love  of 
God  and  the  human  soul,  the  golden  apples  guarded 
by  a  dragon  in  the  garden  of  the  Hesperides  inters- 
preted  as  a  tradition  of  the  tree  of  knowledge  and 
the  subtle  serpent  in  the  garden  of  Eden,  Apollo 
on  the  chariot  of  the  sun  transformed  into  Elias 
borne  to  heaven  on  a  fiery  chariot,  and  Mercury  or 
Hermes  with  a  ram  on  his  shoulder  expressive  of 
the  Christian  conception  of  the  Saviour  as  the 
Good  Shepherd. 

In  the  eleventh  and  twelfth  centuries  this  servile 
imitation  is  followed  by  a  conscious  appropriation 
and  independent  elaboration  of  pagan  myths  by 
Christian  artists,  as  the  result  of  a  better  appreci- 
ation of  the  antique.  Sibyls  as  well  as  saints  and 
prophets  stand  in  the  niches  of  Giotto's  tower,  and 
are  sculptured  in  relief  on  the  bronze  doors  of 
Ghiberti  in  Florence,  and  on  the  Casa  Santa  of 
Loreto.  A  mosaic  in  San  Michele  at  Pavia 
celebrates  the  humane  and  heroic  feat  of  Theseus 
in  slaying  the  Minotaur ;  on  one  side  of  the  en- 
trance to  the  labyrinth  is  a  dragon,  and  on  the 
other  side  a  Pegasus ;  on  the  left  hand,  as  the 
biblical  counterpart  of  the  classical  myth,  is  David 
fighting  Goliath.  It  is  probably  a  work  of  the 
eleventh  century. 

Petrarch  calls  God  "living  Jove"  and  "eternal 


3IO  Animal    Symbolism 

Jove";  and  Dante  apostrophizes  Christ  as  "  supreme 
Jove,  who  for  us  on  earth  was  crucified  " — 

"  O  sommo  Giove, 
Chi  fosti'n  terra  per  noi  crocifisso." 

Indeed,  Jupiter  was  used  as  synonymous  with 
Jesus  in  poetry  long  before  the  features  of  the 
sovereign  of  Olympus  were  borrowed  by  painters 
and  sculptors  to  lend  dignity  and  majesty  to  the 
portraitures  of  Christ,  especially  in  His  character 
as  stern  and  avenging  Judge  on  the  last  day. 

Giotto,  whose  pencil  wrought  in  the  spirit  of  the 
Divine  Comedy,  and  whose  pictures  are  often  mere 
embodiments  and  illustrations  of  Dante's  ideas, 
introduced  similar  elements  of  ancient  mythology 
into  Christian  art  by  way  of  allegory.  So,  too,  in 
the  famous  frescoes  of  the  triumph  of  death  and  the 
last  judgment  by  Andrea  and  Bernardo  Orcagno 
in  the  Campo  Santo  at  Pisa,  and  in  the  Strozzi 
chapel  of  Santa  Maria  Novella  at  Florence,  we 
find  Charon  the  grim  ferryman  of  souls,  a  triple- 
necked  Pluto  as  the  personification  of  hell  swallow- 
ing the  damned,  Cerberus  devouring  the  envious, 
the  morasses  of  the  Styx,  the  bull-headed  anthro- 
pophagous Minotaur,  in  short  the  whole  scenery 
of  the  lower  world  as  conceived  by  the  poets  of 
classical  antiquity  and  seen  through  mediaeval  eyes. 

The  peacock,  being  sacred  to  Juno,  became  a 
symbol  of  the  apotheosis  of  Roman  empresses,  as 
Jupiter's  eagle  was  of  Roman  emperors.  For  this 
reason  these  birds  were  carved  on  the  tombs  of  the 


In  Ecclesiastical  Architecture     3 1 1 

apotheosized,  and  on  funeral  lamps.  From  pagan 
monuments  of  the  dead  they  passed  to  Christian 
sepulchres,  on  which  they  signified  the  Christian's 
conception  of  apotheosis,  the  ascension  of  the 
sanctified  soul  and  its  union  with  God.  Owing 
to  the  belief  that  the  flesh  of  the  peacock  was 
incorruptible,  this  fowl  was  made  an  emblem  of 
the  resurrection  of  the  dead,  sown  in  corruption, 
but  raised  in  incorruption.  On  this  point  Augustine 
says  {^De  Civ.  Dei,  xxi.  4) :  "  Quis  enim  nisi  Deus 
creator  omnium  dedit  carni  pavonis  mortui  ne 
putrescerent  ?  "  "  For  who  except  God,  the  Creator 
of  all  things,  endowed  the  flesh  of  the  dead  pea- 
cock with  the  power  of  never  decaying  ?  "  There 
is  a  tradition  that  the  acute  and  inquisitive  suffra- 
gan of  Hippo  experimented  with  the  flesh  of 
this  fowl,  and  found  the  popular  superstition  to 
be  correct. 

The  splendour  of  its  plumage  made  it  also  an 
emblem  of  the  glories 
of  heaven.     In  many 
mediaeval    paintings, 
for  example,  in  Hans   % 
Memling's  picture  of 

■  1  T         i,     T       1  ,       Peacocks.    (Psalter  of  Isabella  of  France.) 

the    Last  Judgment  \  j  j  > 

in  the  Dorothy  Chapel  of  St.  Mary's  Church  in 
Dantzig,  the  angels  have  peacocks'  feathers  in  their 
wings.  The  Christian  moralist,  however,  in  his  con- 
demnation of  all  sensual  beauty  as  diabolical  in  its 
origin  and  influence,  prefers  in  general  to  indicate 
and  emphasize  the  imperfections  and  less  attractive 


312  Animal    Symbolism 

features  of  the  bird,  which  it  endeavours  to  conceal 
under  its  showy  quaHties.  Thus,  in  Freidank's 
Bescheidenheit  (p.  43),  the  peacock  is  said  to  have 
the  sHnking  gait  of  a  thief,  the  voice  of  the  devil, 
and  an  angel's  garb — 

"der  phawe  diebes  sliche  hat, 
tiuvels  stimme,  und  engels  wat." 

On  account  of  this  peculiarity  of  its  walk  it  is 
called  Petitpas  ("Mincing-step")  in  the  Roman  de 
Renart.  The  striking  contrast  between  the  ugly 
feet,  the  awkward  movement,  the  harsh  strident 
cry  of  the  peacock,  and  its  brilliant  hues  furnished 
material  for  moralization  exceedingly  welcome  to 
didactic   poets  and  homilists.^ 

The  Physiologtis  says  that  when  the  peacock 
wakes  suddenly  in  the  night,  it  cries  out  as  if  in 
distress,  because  it  dreams  that  it  has  lost  its 
beauty,  thus  typifying  the  soul,  which  in  the  night 
of  this  sinful  world  is  constantly  fearing  to  lose  the 
good  gifts  and  graces  with  which  God  has  endowed 
it.  In  the  bestiaries  a  man  devoid  of  prudence  is 
likened  to  a  peacock  that  has  lost  its  tail  ;  because, 
as  the  author  argues,  the  tail  of  the  peacock 
denotes  foresight,  since  the  tail  being  behind  is 
that  which  is  to  come ;  and  foresight  is  the  faculty 
of  taking  heed  to  that  which  is  to  come.  As  a 
burlesque  on  all  reasoning  from  analogy,  nothing 
could  be  better  than  this. 

'  Cf.  Victor  Hehn,  Kulturpfianzen  und  Hausthiere,  Berlin, 
1874,  p.  311. 


In   Ecclesiastical  Architecture     313 

The  Christian  version  of  the  story  of  Argus  and 
lo  is  an  excellent  example  of  the  naive  manner 
in  which  classical  myths  were  diverted  from  their 
natural  course  into  the  channel  of  moral  and 
religious  instruction.  "  There  was  once  a  lady 
who  had  a  very  beautiful  cow.  In  order  that  it 
might  not  be  stolen,  she  hired  a  herdsman  named 
Argus,  who  had  a  hundred  eyes,  but  slept  with 
only  two  at  a  time,  and  kept  watch  with  all  the 
others.  Nevertheless  her  precaution  was  of  no 
avail,  and  she  lost  her  cow.  For  a  certain  man, 
who  coveted  the  animal,  had  a  son  called  Mercurius, 
who  was  very  skilful  in  playing  on  a  long,  hollow 
reed.  This  clever  young  man  took  occasion  to 
visit  Argus,  and  began  to  talk  about  one  thing  and 
another  and  to  play  on  his  pipe  ;  and  as  he  went 
on  talking  and  playing,  Argus  fell  asleep  at  first 
with  two  eyes,  then  with  four,  and  so  on  until  finally 
the  hundred  eyes  were  all  closed  in  slumber. 
Thereupon  Mercurius  cut  off  the  head  of  the 
herdsman,  and  drove  away  the  cow  to  his  father. 
This  incident  is  an  admonition  and  a  warning  for 
us.  We  are  Argus,  and  the  cow  is  our  precious 
soul,  which  we  are  set  to  keep  with  vigilance,  and 
the  hundred  eyes  are  the  good  deeds  and  pious 
services  by  which  the  safety  of  the  soul  is  secured. 
The  man  who  wished  to  steal  the  cow  is  the 
devil ;  and  his  son  and  emissary  lulls  us  to  sleep 
by  luxury,  pride,  vicious  habits,  and  worldly 
pleasures,  and  at  last  carries  away  the  soul  captive, 
and  delivers  it  to  his  father,  the  author  of  all  evil.' 


3^4 


Animal    Symbolism 


Myth  of  Argus.     {Bestiary.) 


A  miniature  of  this  scene  from  the  Arsenal  manu- 
script has  been  published  by 
Cahier(J///.  d' Arch.,  II.  xx, 
AB),  and  it  is  easy  to  con- 
ceive how  by  such  a  process 
of  transformation  all  the 
fables  of  pagan  mythology 
might  serve  as  apt  illustra- 
tions of  Christian  teachings, 
and  appropriate  decorations  of  Christian  archi- 
tecture. 

In  the  Septuagint  the  word  (reipT]V(9  occurs 
frequently  where  owls  and  ostriches  are  spoken  of 
in  the  English  version.  Thus  the  prophet  Isaiah 
(xiii.  21-22)  is  made  to  declare  that  "sirens  and 
satyrs  shall  dance  in  Babylon,  and  onocentaurs 
and  demons  shall  dwell  in  their  habitations."  The 
sirens  are  said  to  be  of  three  kinds :  half  woman 


Sirens.     {Psalter  0/  Isabella  0/ France.) 

and  half  fish,  half  woman  and  half  bird,  and  half 
woman  and  half  ass.  Some  play  on  flutes,  others 
on  harps,  and  others  sing,  attracting  men  by  the 
sweetness  of  their  music,  lulling  them  to  sleep  and 
rending  them  in  pieces.  They  symbolize  the  power 
of  female  blandishment,  and  the  allurements  of  the 


In   Ecclesiastical  Architecture     3  1 5 

flesh,  and  are  often  portrayed  in  missals  and  on 
different  parts  of  ecclesiastical  edifices.  The  ship 
of  Ulysses  sailing  by  the  island  of  the  sirens, 
himself  bound  to  the  mast,  and  the  ears  of  the 
mariners  stopped  with  wax,  was  a  favourite  subject 
with  ancient  artists,  who  delineated  the  scene  on 
gems,  mosaics,  urns,  and  vases.  In  Christian  art 
the  ship  of  the  wandering  king  of  Ithaca  was 
transformed  into  the  ship  of  the  Church,  which 
bears  those  who  entrust  themselves  to  its  care  and 
keeping  safely  through  the  temptations  of  the 
world.  Thus  in  the  crypt  of  Santa  Lucia,  in  the 
catacombs  of  Callistus,  is  a  representation  of 
Ulysses  and  the  sirens,  which  St.  Maximus  of 
Turin  interprets  as  a  Christian  allegory.  "  This 
ship,"  he  says,  *'  is  the  Church,  and  the  mast 
symbolizes  the  cross  of  Christ,  to  which  the  faith- 
ful must  cling  in  order  to  escape  the  seductions  of 
the  senses.  As  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ  was  nailed 
to  the  cross,  and  remained  sinless  among  tempta- 
tions, so  let  us  navigate  the  perilous  sea  of  life  as 
if  our  ears  were  stopped." 

As  servants  and  messengers  of  Proserpina  the 
sirens,  like  the  Scandinavian  Valkyrias,  carried  the 
souls  of  the  departed  to  Hades,  and  were  therefore 
often  sculptured  on  tombs  and  cinerary  urns,  usually 
playing  musical  instruments.  On  the  sepulchres 
of  illustrious  orators  like  Isocrates  or  eminent 
poets  like  Sophocles,  the  sirens  personified  the 
magic  power  and  irresistible  persuasiveness  of 
eloquence  and  the  charms  of  poetry,  which  capti- 


3i6 


Animal    Symbolism 


vate  the  souls  of  men.  Patristic  theologians  and 
exegetists  confounded  sirens  and  mermaids,  and 
believed  them  to  be  real  creatures  expressly  in- 
tended to  serve  as  deterrent  types  of  carnal 
appetites  and  sensual  enticements.  In  mediaeval 
poetry  the  siren  symbolizes  the  delusive  fascinations 
of  this  world,  which  Konrad  von  Wurzburg  by  a 
bold  metaphor  calls  "die  syrene  triigesam"  ("the 
deceitful  siren  "),  from  whose  allurements  the  holy 
Virgin  rescues  us  on  the  voyage  of  life,  and  brings 
us  safely  to  the  haven  of  eternal  rest. 

The  siren  is  often  represented  in  sacred  art  with 
a  fish  in  her  hand,  signifying  the  soul  held  in  the 
grip  of  libidinous  passion,  as  for  example  on  the 
capitals  of  some  of  the  columns  in  St.  Germain 
des  Pres,  the  oldest  of  the  Parisian  churches ;  in 
the  arcades  of  the  cloister  of  St.  Aubin,  where  the 
siren  has  a  fish  in  one  hand  and  a  knife  in  the 


Siren  presenting  a  Fish  to  a  man. 
(Church  at  Cunatdt-sur- Loire.) 


other ;  on  capitals  in  the  churches  at  Civaux,  where 
the  siren  is  handing  the  fish  to  a  man  in  a  boat, 
while  another  is  plunging  from  the  opposite  side 


In   Ecclesiastical  Architecture     317 

of  the  boat  into  the  sea,  as  though  he  feared  the 
seductress  even  when  bringing  gifts,  and  risked  his 
life  to  save  his  soul ;  and  at  Cunault-sur- Loire, 
where  a  similar  scene  is  represented,  the  man  in 
the  boat  receiving  the  fish  with  an  affrighted  mien, 
and  his  companion  standing  in  a  deprecating 
attitude  on  the  shore.  This  sculpture  dates  from 
the  twelfth  century.  Sirens  are  carved  on  the 
stalls  of  the  chancel  in  the  cathedral  of  Poitiers 
and  in  Notre  Dame  of  Rouen,  in  the  church  of 
St.  Nicholas  at  Anclam,  and  on  the  portal  of  the 
Schottenkirche  in  Ratisbon ;  also  winged  virgins 
with  birds'  legs  and  tails  adorn  the  four  corner 
pillars  which  support  the  candelabra  wrought  in 
bronze  by  Peter  Vischer. 

In  classical  mythology  centaurs  were  associated 
with  sirens  in  Bacchanal  processions  and  orgies, 
because  they  both  embodied  and  symbolized  over- 
ruling animal  impulses  and  passions.  They  dis- 
charged similar  functions  as  agents  of  the  gods  of 
the  lower  world,  and  for  this  reason  were  sculptured 
on  pagan  sarcophagi  and  other  funeral  monuments, 
from  which  they  were  borrowed  by  Christians,  who 
conceived  of  them  as  demons  armed  with  bows  and 
arrows,  and  going  about  annoying  believers  and 
assailing  them  with  what  Paul  calls  "  the  fiery  darts 
of  the  wicked." 

St.  Jerome  records  that  when  St.  Anthony,  in  the 
ninetieth  year  of  his  age,  went  to  visit  Paul  the 
Hermit  in  the  desert,  he  met  a  creature  half  man 
and  half  horse.     The  saint  made  the  sign  of  the 


3i8  Animal    Symbolism 

cross,  as  a  protection  against  diabolical  influences, 
and  then  inquired  the  way  to  Paul's  hermitage. 
Thereupon  the  strange  hybrid  uttered  some  harsh 
semi-articulate  whinnying  sounds,  and,  pointing  with 
his  right  hand  in  the  proper  direction,  galloped  off. 
Jerome  maintains  that  this  apparition  was  an  emis- 
sary of  Satan  sent  to  frighten  St.  Anthony,  and  to 
deter  him  from  his  purpose ;  but  if  this  theory  be 
correct,  the  willingness  with  which  the  devil's  agent 
acted  as  a  guide-post  and  helped  the  holy  man 
on  his  way  is  rather  remarkable.  The  monks 
were  wont  to  people  the  desert,  and  other  lonely 
places  in  which  they  dwelt,  with  monstrous  shapes 
or  entrancing  visions,  like  those  which  so  sorely 
tempted  St.  Anthony,  products  of  their  own  sup- 
pressed but  ineradicable  passions,  and  abortions  of 
an  imagination  morbidly  excited  by  asceticism  and 
solitude. 

The  centaur  figures  very  frequently  in  architec- 
ture from  the  tenth  to  the  sixteenth  century,  espe- 
cially on  the  doors  of  churches.  Thus,  in  the  reliefs 
on  the  bronze  doors  of  Augsburg  Cathedral  one 
centaur  is  shooting  at  a  man  and  another  at  a  lion  ; 
on  a  frieze  in  the  church  at  Brenz  are  reliefs  of  cen- 
taurs shooting  arrows,  and  the  same  subject  is  on 
the  bronze  doors  of  St.  Sophia  in  Novgorod ;  on 
the  west  side  of  St.  John's,  in  Gmiind,  is  a  centaur 
with  a  knife ;  on  the  portal  of  St.  Gilles  are  two 
centaurs,  one  shooting  at  a  stag  and  another  pur- 
suing a  lion ;  on  the  portal  of  St.  Trophine  at 
Aries  we  find  seven  reliefs  of  centaurs  shooting  at 


In   Ecclesiastical    Architecture     3 1 9 

lions,  and  of  men  fighting  with  divers  wild  beasts, 
illustrating  the  conflict  of  fierce  passions,  or  men 
contending  against  their  own  lower  natures,  and 
trying  to  subdue  them.  In  the  cloister  of  Zurich 
Minster  are  two  female  centaurs,  one  shooting 
an  arrow  at  a  dragon,  and  the  other  thrusting 
a  spear  down  its  throat ;  in  the  former  cloister- 
church  at  Ibbenstadt  in  Wetterau,  on  the  base  of 
a  pillar  surmounted  by  a  cross,  is  a  centaur  dis- 
charging an  arrow  into  the  extended  jaws  of  a 
dragon ;  in  the  Liebfrauenkirche  (Church  of  our 
dear  Lady)  at  Halberstadt  are  reliefs  on  the  frieze 
of  the  stone  enclosure  of  the  chancel,  representing 
female  centaurs  nursing  their  young,  and  male 
centaurs  tearing  each  other's  hair ;  and  in  Freiburg 
Minster  a  man  fighting  a  winged  centaur  with 
sword  and  shield,  and  a  couple  of  female  centaurs 
contending  with  similar  weapons.  It  is  not  easy 
in  every  case  to  determine  the  precise  spiritual 
significance  of  such  scenes,  and  in  some  instances 
they  are  doubtless  purely  decorative,  although  a 
lingering  tradition  of  the  original  symbolism  of  the 
centaur  underlies  them  all,  and  accounts  for  the 
introduction  of  these  fabulous  monsters  even  as 
merely  ornamental  forms. 

Dante  {Inf.,  xii.)  condemns  those  who  have 
been  guilty  of  deeds  of  violence  against  life  and 
property,  Alexander,  Attila,  and  other  great  con- 
querors and  ravagers  of  the  earth,  to  suffer  for 
their  crimes  in  a  turbulent  stream  of  boiling  blood, 
guarded  by  centaurs  armed  with  darts,  and  running 


320  Animal   Symbolism 

along  the  shore ;  and  Vergil  {y^n.,  vi.  286)  is  met 
by  them  as  he  is  about  to  enter  the  lower  world, 
where  they  seem  to  have  acted  as  warders  of  the 
gate  to  the  nether  regions.  In  Bernardo  Orcagna's 
famous  fresco  of  the  Last  Judgment  in  the  Strozzi 
Chapel  of  Santa  Maria  Novella,  in  Florence,  which 
is  essentially  a  pictorial  illustration  of  Dante's  de- 
scription of  Inferno,  the  damned  are  pursued  by 
centaurs.  In  the  church  of  the  Franciscan  cloister 
at  Assisi,  on  the  groined  arch  over  the  grave  of 
St.  Francis,  is  a  centaur  painted  by  Giotto  as  a 
symbol  of  self-will,  together  with  other  frescoes  by 
the  same  master,  representing  allegorical  figures  of 
poverty,  chastity,  obedience,  prudence,  humility,  and 
kindred  virtues  with  which  the  saint  was  supposed 
to  have  been  pre-eminently  endowed.  In  a  painting 
by  Andrea  Mantegna  in  the  gallery  of  the  Louvre 
the  vices  are  delineated  as  satyrs  and  centaurs ; 
and  on  a  stoup  by  Jacopo  della  Querela  in  the 
cathedral  of  Sienna  are  reliefs  of  David  rending  the 
jaws  of  a  lion  and  Hercules  slaying  a  centaur, 
forming  a  part  of  a  series  of  sculptures  giving  the 
history  of  creation  from  the  birth  of  light  to  the 
expulsion  of  Adam  and  Eve  from  the  garden  of 
Eden.  In  older  works  of  Christian  art,  which  have 
for  their  subject  the  fall  of  man,  centaurs  often 
appear  as  personifications  of  criminal  impulses 
rashly  and  recklessly  obeyed.  At  a  later  period, 
like  other  real  or  fabulous  creatures,  they  gradually 
lost  their  symbolical  meaning,  and  were  used  for 
satirical  purposes  in  accordance  with  the  general 


In  Ecclesiastical  Architecture     321 

law  of  degeneracy  that  governs  this  hieroglyphic 
mode  of  expression.  Thus,  on  some  of  the  seats 
of  the  stalls  in  the  choir  of  Bale  Minster,  belonging 
to  the  end  of  the  fifteenth  century,  are  carvings  of 
centaurs  with  the  heads  of  bishops  and  of  merry- 
making monks  and  nuns,  and  other  caricatures  of 
the  clergy. 

In  the  crypt  of  the  cathedral  at  Freising,  near 
Munich  in  Bavaria,  is  a  column  adorned  on  all 
sides  with  sculptures  of  the  eleventh  century,  repre- 
senting the  chief  incidents  of  the  old  German  myth 
of  Sigurd  (Siegfried).  In  the  first  group  two  per- 
sons— one  in  armour,  and  wearing  spurs  (Sigurd), 
and  the  other  in  a  kirtle  (Regino) — are  slaying  the 
dragon.  Next  we  see  a  naked  man  letting  himself 
down  into  the  jaws  of  the  dead  dragon  ;  it  is  Sigurd 
bathing  himself  in  the  dragon's  blood,  which  would 
render  him  invulnerable.  A  branch  of  leaves  hang- 
ing down  covers  a  part  of  his  shoulder,  and  indi- 
cates the  fatal  spot  which  remained  unwashed  by 
the  monster's  blood,  and  therefore  capable  of  being 
wounded.  Two  birds  are  perched  on  the  capital 
of  the  column.  An  animal,  probably  an  ichneumon 
(also  a  legendary  killer  of  monsters  in  the  form  of 
crocodiles),  is  rushing  into  the  jaws  of  another 
dragon  resembling  an  alligator.  On  the  fourth 
side  is  a  woman  with  long  hair,  a  valkyrie,  or 
perhaps  Brunhild.  The  legend  of  Sigurd  symbol- 
ized the  vernal  freshness  and  vigour  of  the  sun 
slaying  the  demon  of  winter,  and  freeing  earth's 
treasures  from  its  icy  grasp,  and  was  therefore  easily 

Y 


322 


Animal    Symbolism 


turned    into    the   channel    of 
Christian  ethics  and  theology, 
and    made  to  signify  the  re- 
deeming   power    of  the   Sun 
of  Righteousness.      For  this 
reason  scenes  from  it  are  fre- 
quently   found    depicted    on 
monuments  of  Christian  art. 
In  Norway  the  Sigurd  Saga 
seems  to  have  been  a  favourite 
theme  of  Christian  architects, 
and  the  adventures  of  this  old 
Scandinavian  ideal  of  heroic 
valour  and  strength  were  fre- 
quently carved  on  the  door- 
posts and  stalls  of  sacred  edi- 
fices, especially  in  the  southern 
provinces.      The   most   com- 
plete   of    these    delineations 
are  the  curious  wood-carvings 
from  the  portal  of  the  church 
at    Hyllestad,    in    Saetersdal, 
now  in  the  University  collec- 
tion of  Northern  Antiquities 
at     Christiania,    and     dating 
probably  from  the  thirteenth 
century.      The   scenes  repre- 
sented are  as  follows  :  i.  The 
smith,     Regino,     forges     the 
sword  "Nothung,"  while  Si- 
gurd    blows     the      bellows. 


-A- 


'-a; 


^^ 


Siegfried  Saga.     {Freiszng.) 


In  Ecclesiastical  Architecture     32 


.^^i 


(^ 


Siegfried  Saga.    {Fi-eising.) 


2.  Sigurd  tests    the  sword  by- 
smiting    the    anvil     in    twain. 

3.  Sigurd     slays     Fafnir    the 
dragon.      4.  Sigurd   cuts    Faf- 
nir's  heart  in  three  pieces  and 
roasts  them    on  a  spit ;    while 
Regino  is  asleep  Sigurd  touches 
one  of  the  pieces  with  his  finger 
to  see  if  it  is  done  ;  as  the  juice 
of  the  roast  is  hot  he  licks  his 
finger,  and  thus  gets  a  taste  of 
it,  and    is   able   to  understand 
the  language  of  the  birds  which 
are   singing    in    the    branches 
above    his    head.      The   steed 
Grane  is  also  visible,  laden  with 
the    Andvaregold,     known    as 
the  Rhinegold    or   Nibelungen 
Hort     (treasure).       5.     Sigurd 
kills  Regino,  whose  meditated 
treachery  has  been  revealed  to 
him  by  the  birds.     6.  Gunnar 
is   lying   in  a   pit   of  serpents 
with     his     hands    bound,    and 
playing   a   harp   with   his   feet 
in  order  to  charm  the  venom- 
ous   reptiles   and   render  them 
innoxious ;  one  of  them,  how- 
ever, is  of  the  kind  mentioned 
by   the    Psalmist,  "  which    will 
not    hearken   to  the   voice   of 


324 


Animal    Symbolism 


charmers,    charming    never 
so  wisely,"  and    has  bitten 
him.      This   last   legend    is 
more  fully  rendered  on  two 
carved  planks  from  the  por- 
tal of  the  church  at  Austad 
(Saetersdal),  where  we  find 
two  scenes  from  the  Gjukun- 
gasaga :    Hogne's    heart  is 
cut  out  of  his  breast  by  Atle 
and  shown  to  the  brother  of 
the   slain,    Gunnar,   who   is 
exposed    to    serpents,    and 
plays  the  harp  with  his  feet. 
The  portal  of  the  church  at 
Vegusdal,  also  in  Saetersdal, 
is  adorned  with  delineations 
of  Sigurd's  exploits  similar 
in  character,  but  less   fully 
represented.     Indeed,  as  we 
have    already    stated,  more 
or  less  fragmentary  episodes 
of    old    Norse    Saga-cycles 
are  found  in  a  great  number 
of  churches,  as,  for  example, 
at  Nesland  in  Thalemarken, 
at  Hemsedal  in  Hallingdal, 
at   Lardal   in  Jarlsberg,  at 
Opdal     in     Numedal,    and 
elsewhere.      A    carving    at 
Lardal   represents   the   ex- 


Siegfried  Saga.     (Freising.') 


In  Ecclesiastical  Architecture     325 


Siegfried  Saga.     (Freising.) 


piation  made  for  the  death 
of  the  otter  by  heaping  up 
gold  sufficient  to  cover  its 
skin ;  round  its  neck  is  the 
fatal  Andvare  ring.  In  the 
church  of  Hitterdal,  a  re- 
markably interesting  speci- 
men of  the  Norwegian 
"  stavekirker  "  of  the  twelfth 
century,  are  decorative  carv- 
ings of  Sigurd  and  Gunnar 
riding  up  the  mountain 
towards  the  spot  where 
Brynhildr  ( Brunhild )  is 
asleep,  encircled  with  a 
barrier  of  fire,  and,  as  they 
return,  Sigurd  holds  the  ring 
of  Andvare  in  his  hand. 
Doubtless  many  monuments 
of  this  kind,  formerly  exist- 
ing in  Scandinavia  and  in 
other  northern  countries,  have 
perished.  Fragments  of  sculp- 
tures treating  the  Sigurd 
Saga  in  the  manner  already 
described  may  be  seen  still, 
although  in  a  very  mutilated 
condition,  on  a  cross-shaft  at 
Kirk  Andreas,  in  the  Isle  of 
Man.i 

'  Cf.  Dr.  L.  Dietrichson  and  H. 


326 


Animal    Symbolism 


Christianity,  it  must  be 
remembered,  was  forced  upon 
the  Norwegians  by  sove- 
reigns who,  like  King  Olaf 
Tryggvason,  had  been  con- 
verted in  foreign  lands,  and 
endeavoured  to  introduce  the 
new  religion  in  a  summary 
manner  by  royal  decree. 
There  was  no  change,  how- 
ever, in  the  religious  beliefs 
of  the  masses  of  the  people, 
who  continued  to  worship  the 
ancestral  gods  and  to  revere 
the  mythical  and  semi-myth- 
ical heroes  whose  deeds,  as 
celebrated  in  ancient  songs 
and  sagas,  were  anything  but 
illustrations  of  Christian  vir- 
tues. Chief  of  these  popular 
demi-gods  was  Sigurd,  the 
most  perfect  embodiment  of 
the  Norseman's  conception 
of  manly  force  and  fearless- 
ness. Even  Christian  priests 
themselves  were  not  wholly 
free    from    this    feeling,   and 


Munthe,  Die  Holzbauktmst  Nor- 
wegens  in  Vergangenheit  und 
Gegenwart ,  Berlin,  1893,  pp. 25-27; 
Journal  of  the  British  Archcco logi- 
cal Associatio7i,  vol.  xliii..  p.  260. 


1j 


Sigurd  Saga.     {Hyllestad.) 


In   Ecclesiastical  Architecture     327 


Sigurd  Saga.     (Hyllestad.') 


cherished  a  lingering  fond- 
ness for  the  outworn  creeds 
and  discarded  superstitions 
of  their  fathers.  Partly  as 
an  expression  of  this  senti- 
ment, and  partly  as  a  matter 
of  policy,  Sigurd,  the  slayer 
of  Fafnir,  was  made  to  sym- 
bolize Christ,  the  subduer  of 
Satan,  or  was  regarded  as 
the  pagan  prototype  of  the 
Christian  dragon-killers,  St. 
George  and  St.  Michael,  and 
placed  at  the  portal  of  the 
church  as  its  protector.  By 
the  same  process  of  adapta- 
tion and  assimilation  Gunnar 
in  the  serpents'  pit  came  to 
typify  man  in  the  bondage 
of  sin,  trying  to  comfort 
himself  and  to  calm  his 
conscience  by  resorting  to 
worldly  pleasures,  but 
doomed  to  spiritual  death. 
Another  favourite  theme 
of  mediaeval  art  was  the 
weighing  of  souls,  which 
plays  such  a  prominent  and 
decisive  part  in  the  eschato- 
logy  of  the  ancient  Egyp- 
tians,  on    whose   sepulchral 


328  Animal    Symbolism 

monuments  the  Supreme  Judge  is  seen  determining 
the  worth  of  souls  by  weight,  and  condemning 
each  to  be  reimbodied  in  the  animal  form  to 
which  the  habits  of  life  cultivated  in  a  previous 
existence  rendered  it  best  suited.  Thus  a  glutton  is 
scourged  with  rods  by  cynocephali,  who  are  re- 
conducting his  spirit  to  the  earth,  where  it  is 
doomed  to  pass  its  next  period  of  incarnation 
as  a  hog.  Most  probably,  however,  the  mediaeval 
artist  knew  nothing  of  the  Egyptian  method  of 
procedure  in  determining  the  destiny  of  souls,  but 
simply  intended  to  illustrate  the  words  of  Daniel 
to  King  Belshazzar :  "  Thou  art  weighed  in  the 
balances,  and  art  found  wanting  ;"  although  this 
metaphorical  phrase  is  evidently  based  upon  the 
Oriental  conception  of  the  method  by  which  retri- 
butive justice  is  meted  out  in  accordance  with  the 
theory  of  metempsychosis. 

In  a  bas-relief  on  a  church  at  Velay  an  angel  is 
engaged  in  weighing  souls ;  the  devil  in  the  shape 
of  a  pig  is  carrying  off  a  woman,  whose  virtues 
have  been  found  of  too  light  a  quality,  and  keeping 
one  eye  on  the  scales  to  see  that  the  angel  does  not 
cheat  him  out  of  the  rest  of  the  ponderable  wares. 
It  is  a  competition  in  which  neither  will  bate  the 
other  even  one  poor  scruple.  In  a  sculpture  of  the 
thirteenth  century  on  the  portal  of  the  church  at 
Louques,  in  the  province  of  Aveyron,  the  devil  is 
slyly  touching  the  beam  with  his  finger  in  order 
to  make  it  incline  in  his  favour ;  and  in  a  stained 
window  of  the  cathedral  of  Bourses  we  see   the 


'I 


In   Ecclesiastical  Architecture     329 

arch-fiend  putting  his  foot  on  the  scale  and  pressing 
the  lever  with  his  hand,  while  one  of  his  imps  is 
pulling  at  it  from  be- 
low so  as  to  make  the 
side  of  virtue  kick  the 
beam.    Here  the  good 

and  evil  qualities  are    ^  VIT^^"^   ^^  ^^^^^  ^' 
incarnate    as    heads.   /   _^  (n^rw^        ?fc5*^^:ia>v,i     ■ 
A  relief  on  the  pedi-  '   ^'«^«ll'?'  \«il  d:^        /nu^-'J  m 
ment  over  a  doorway 
of    the    cathedral   of 
Autun    represents    a 

crowd     of    naked    and        Weighing  Souls.     (_Bo7irges  Cathedral.) 

clawfooted  devils  eagerly  watching  a  balance,  in  one 
scale  of  which  are  the  vices  of  the  soul  incorporate 
in  a  hideously-deformed  creature,  and  in  the  other 
scale  its  virtues  personified  by  a  young  child  under 
the  protection  of  a  lean  and  lank  angel  in  exceed- 
ingly stiff  and  angular  drapery.  Here,  too,  the  devil 
in  charge  tries  to  push  the  doubtful  beam,  but  is 
caught  in  the  act  and  thwarted  by  the  vigilant 
angel.  Behind  the  devil  stands  a  long  procession 
of  trembling  souls,  and  in  the  background  a  fiery 
furnace,  into  which  a  serpent-headed  imp  as  stoker 
is  vigorously  thrusting  those  who  have  been  found 
deficient  in  saving  qualities.  In  Egyptian  escha- 
tology  the  office  of  weighing  souls  was  performed 
by  Osiris  and  Typhon  ;  in  Christian  art  the  function 
of  balancing  good  and  evil  deeds  and  thus  deter- 
mining the  future  destiny  of  men  is  commonly 
assigned    to    the   archangel    Michael   and    Satan. 


330  Animal    Symbolism 

Sometimes  the  scales  are  held  by  the  hand  of  God 
reaching  out  of  the  clouds,  as,  for  example,  on  the 
arch  of  the  principal  doorway  of  the  cathedral  of 
Autun,  and  on  a  capital  in  the  church  of  Saint-Croix 
in  Saint-L6 ;  usually,  however,  it  is  St.  Michael 
who  superintends  this  weighty  business,  and  pre- 
vents any  cheating  on  the  part  of  the  great  deceiver. 
There  is  a  vivid  representation  of  this  scene  on  the 
portal  of  St.  Trophine  in  Arles-sur-Rhone  (eleventh 
century),  where  the  good  souls  under  the  care  of 
the  tutelar  archangel  mount  upwards  and  join  the 
assembly  of  the  elect  in  heaven,  while  the  bad  ones 
are  seized  by  a  gigantic  demon,  who  already  has 
two  in  his  clutch,  holding  them  with  their  heads 
downward.  Essentially  similar  scenes  are  sculp- 
tured on  the  portals  of  the  cathedral  St.  Nicholas 
at  Fribourg  in  Switzerland,  the  metropolitan  church 
Notre-Dame-de-Paris,  the  old  cathedral  church  of 
Bazas  in  Gironde,  and  in  many  other  ecclesiastical 
edifices. 

On  the  portal  of  the  minster  at  Bonn  are  sculp- 
tured an  angel  and  a  devil,  each  diligently  writing 
in  a  scroll  held  on  the  knee ;  and  cowering  between 
the  ribs  of  the  arch  of  the  famous  pulpit  in  Bale 
Minster  (hewn  in  i486  in  the  form  of  a  Gothic 
chalice  out  of  a  single  stone)  is  a  devil  busily 
engaged  in  taking  notes,  not  probably  of  the  sermon, 
but  of  the  conduct  of  the  congregation  ;  underneath 
is  the  inscription  Prope  est  dies  Domini  ("  the  day 
of  the  Lord  is  near  ").  In  a  fresco  painting  of  the 
thirteenth    century   in    the   cathedral    of    Freising 


In   Ecclesiastical  Architecture     331 


depicting  the  Last  Judgment  the  archangel  Michael 
and  Satan  are  each  presenting  their  books  to 
Christ;  this  picture  might  serve  as  an  illustration 
to  the  fine  Latin  hymn  also  of  the  thirteenth 
century,  and  ascribed  to  the  Franciscan  monk 
Thomas  of  Celano — 

"  Liber  scriptus  proferetur, 
In  quo  totiim  continetur, 
Ex  quo  mundus  judicetur. 

Judex  ergo  cum  sedebit, 
Quidquid  latet  apparebit, 
Nil  inultum  remanebit." 

In  Indian  mythology  of  the  Post-Vedic  period 
it  is  Yama  who  fixes  the  fate  of  the  soul  after 
hearing  the  report  of  his  secretary  Chitragupta, 
who  keeps  a  strict  record  of  human  actions  in  a 
book  called  Agrasandhani.  Sometimes,  however, 
in  works  of  art  this  clerk  is  represented  as  weighing 
a  person  with  a  steelyard  in  the  presence  of  the 
Judge  of  the  Dead. 

Characteristically  enough,  the  procession  waiting 
for  judgment  in  Christian  delineations  of  the  scene 
consists  almost  entirely  of  women.  The  notion 
that  woman  is,  in  an  emphatic  and  peculiar  sense, 
the  ally  and  satellite  of  Satan  originated  in  the 
legend  of  the  fall  of  man,  and  was  strengthened  by 
the  institution  of  sacerdotal  celibacy.  By  yielding 
to  the  suggestions  of  the  devil  she  brought  ruin 
upon  the  human  race,  and  is  still  the  most  efficient 
agent  of  the  evil  one  in  disturbing  the  meditations 
of  pious  men.     From  her  first  appearance  on  the 


332  Animal    Symbolism 

stage  of  history  her  seductive  influence  has  been 
the  cause  of  all  the  social,  political,  and  domestic 
intrigues  that  have  disturbed  the  peace  and  happi- 
ness of  the  world.  "  CJierchez  la  fenime  "  is  always 
a  pertinent  mandate  in  the  presence  of  any  such 
calamity.  This  prejudice  was  firmly  rooted  in  the 
mediaeval  mind,  and  finds  drastic  expression  in  the 
painting  and  sculpture  as  well  as  in  the  poetry 
and  theology  of  that  period.  A  troubadour  of  the 
thirteenth  century,  in  a  poem  entitled  Les  Blasine 
des  Fames,  compares  woman  to  various  animals, 
each  of  which  is  distinguished  for  some  undesirable 
quality :  she  stings  like  a  serpent,  is  fiery  like  a 
horse,  double-natured  like  a  dragon,  deceitful  like 
a  fox,  greedy  like  a  bear,  and  loves  darkness  like 
a  bat ;  she  is  not  even  admitted  to  have  that  "  ex- 
cellent thing  in  woman,"  a  "voice  ever  soft,  gentle, 
and  low,"  but  hoots  and  screeches  like  an  owl — 

"  Fame  est  huans,  fame  est  fressaie." 

A  picture  in  Notre  Dame  de  Recouvrance  in 
Brest  portrays  the  devil  noting  down  the  idle 
words  of  two  women,  who  are  gossiping  during 
mass.  This  subject  is  often  treated  in  sculpture 
in  the  miniatures  of  manuscript  missals  and  in  the 
designs  of  tapestries,  and  is  thus  referred  to  in  a 
poem  written  by  Pierre  de  Grosnet  in  1553 — 

"  Notez  en  I'ecclise  de  Dieu, 
Femmes  ensemble  caquetoyent. 
Le  diable  y  estoit  en  ung  lieu 
Escripvant  ce  qu'elles  disoyent. 


In   Ecclesiastical  Architecture     233 

Son  roUet  plain  de  poinct  en  poinct, 
Tyre  aux  deus  pour  le  faire  croistre  : 
Sa  prinse  eschappe  et  ne  tient  poinct, 
Au  pillier  s'en  cobby  la  teste." 

On  a  gable-window  of  the  Chateau  de  Villeneuve 
in  Auvergne,  dating  from  the  sixteenth  century,  is 
a  painting  of  three  frightful  devils  forging  the  head 
of  a  woman,  and  three  angels  moulding  the  head  of 
a  man — the  female  head,  being  of  diabolical  work- 
manship, is  full  of  diabolical  propensities.  The 
artists  who  conceived  and  executed  such  things, 
it  must  be  remembered,  were  in  the  service  of  a 
Mariolatrous  and  yet  misogynistic  religion.  In  a 
carving  in  the  church  of  Saint-Spire,  in  Corbeil, 
a  woman  has  got  the  better  of  the  devil,  and  is 
sawing  off  his  infernal  majesty's  right  ear. 

The  devil  is  by  no  means  a  prominent  figure  in 
the  oldest  monuments  of  Christian  art,  and  it  is 
difficult  to  determine  with  precision  when  he  began 
to  claim  the  attention  of  painters  and  sculptors. 
The  general  panic  produced  by  the  belief  that  the 
end  of  the  world  was  at  hand,  and  that  Christ 
would  come  to  judge  the  quick  and  the  dead  in 
the  year  looo,  caused  the  thoughts  of  men  to  turn 
more  and  more  anxiously  to  the  person  of  his 
Satanic  majesty,  who  was  expected  to  play  a  pro- 
minent and  fatal  part  in  that  final  scene.  In 
consequence  of  this  state  of  fearful  anticipation, 
we  find  the  devil  and  his  acolytes  making  their 
appearance  in  the  latter  half  of  the  tenth  and  the 
beginning  of  the  eleventh  century  on  the  capitals 


334  Animal    Symbolism 

and  friezes,  the  doorwaj's  and  pediments  of 
churches,  frequently  as  human  monsters  with  jagged 
wings  and  forked  tail,  or  that  hideous  abortion  of 
an  affrighted  imagination,  the  dragon.  The  object 
of  such  creations  was  to  exert  a  religious  influence 
by  inspiring  terror.  But  after  the  period  so  pain- 
fully looked  forward  to  had  passed,  and  the  day  of 
vengeance  seemed  to  be  indefinitely  postponed,  a 
reaction  of  feeling  set  in,  and  men  began  to  treat 
the  devil  as  a  bugaboo  to  be  ridiculed  rather  than 
to  be  dreaded.  The  imps  which  are  sculptured  in 
bas-relief  on  the  churches  of  the  fifteenth  century 
are  far  more  comical  than  terrible  forms.  They 
are  devils  who  are  fallen  into  dotage  and  visible 
decay,  and  with  whom  the  artist  can  take  all  sorts 
of  liberties,  turning  them  into  clowns  and  buffoons 
for  the  amusement  of  the  populace. 

This  tendency  was  intensified  by  the  scepticism 
which  attended  the  Renaissance  movement  and  led 
to  the  Reformation,  and  was  naturally  and  inevitably 
fostered  by  the  success  of  these  intellectual  and 
ecclesiastical  revolts.  Luther's  devil  was  a  poor 
discrowned  potentate,  whom  it  was  perfectly  safe 
to  deride  and  vilify.  No  hurling  of  inkstands 
would  have  sufficed  to  discomfit  the  devils  of  the 
tenth  and  eleventh  centuries,  nor  would  any  good 
Christian  of  that  day  have  ventured  to  address 
them  in  such  offensive  terms  as  Luther  employs 
in  his  Table  Talk,  lest  they  should  take  him  at  his 
word  and  effect  an  anal  possession  of  his  person 
that  would  defy  the  most  vigorous  crepitus  as  a 


In   Ecclesiastical   Architecture     335 


means  of  expulsion.  Luther's  attitude  towards  the 
prince  of  darkness,  however  bold  and  reckless  it 
may  seem,  was  in  reality  nothing  but  the  cheapest 
and  coarsest  sort  of  swagger.  The  great  devil  in 
the  pediment  over  the  portal  of  the  cathedral  of 
Autun,  belonging  to  the  twelfth  century,  would 
have  "  grinned  horribly  a  ghastly  smile "  at  the 
scurrile  scoffings  and  obscene  jocularities  in  which 
the  Wittenberg  Reformer  was  so  fond  of  indulging 
at  the  expense  of  the  arch-fiend. 

As  Maupertuis  was  passing  through  a  cemetery, 
a  friend,  pointing  to  a  heap  of  skulls,  said,  "  What 
are  they  grinning  at?"  "At  us  who  are  living," 
was  the  reply.  This  is  the  moral  of  the  Dance  of 
Death.  A  Tyrolese  priest,  preaching  to  a  congre- 
gation of  peasants,  naively  remarked,  "All  men 
must  die,  even  I  myself."  The  grim  skeleton  is  no 
respecter  of  persons,  so  far  as  riches  and  rank  are 
concerned ;  the  crown,  the  mitre,  the  tiara,  the 
surplice,  and  the  stole  do  not  avail  to  ward  off 
the  inevitable  fate.  Death's  touch  paralyzes  the 
strongest  arm,  and  his  scythe  strikes  through  the 
heaviest  helmet  and  pierces  the  network  of  the 
most  impenetrable  coat  of  mail.  The  artists  who 
delineated  such  scenes  enforced  in  the  most  em- 
phatic manner  the  doctrine  of  human  equality  so 
impressively  taught  by  Hamlet  in  his  churchyard 
soliloquy :  *'  Now  get  you  to  my  lady's  chamber, 
and  tell  her,  let  her  paint  an  inch  thick,  to  this 
favour  must  she  come."  The  lawyer  with  "his 
quiddits,  his   quillets,  his   cases,   his   tenures,  and 


336  Animal    Symbolism 

his  tricks,"  the  jester  with  his  gibes,  his  gambols, 
his  songs,  his  "  flashes  of  merriment,  that  were  wont 
to  set  the  table  on  a  roar,"  pope,  emperor,  courtier, 
beggar,  miser,  spendthrift,  knight,  peasant,  soldier, 
judge,  and  criminal — all  join  in  the  measured  move- 
ment directed  by  the  untiring  and  unrelenting 
corypheus. 

The  oldest  Dance  of  Death  of  which  we  have 
any  knowledge  dates  from  13 12,  and  was  a  fresco- 
painting  in  the  cloister  of  Klingenthal  at  Little 
Bale,  consisting  of  forty  representations  of  the 
manner  in  which  death  arrests  the  activity  and 
cuts  short  the  career  of  all  classes  and  conditions 
of  men,  and  accompanied  with  explanatory  verses. 
More  than  a  hundred  years  later  the  churchyard 
of  the  Minorite  cloister  of  the  Innocents  at  Paris 
was  adorned  with  similar  scenes,  "begun,"  as  a 
contemporary  record  states,  "  in  the  month  of 
August,  1424,  and  finished  in  the  following  Lent." 
It  was  called  La  Dance  Macabre,  and  woodcuts 
of  it  were  published  in  a  volume  printed  at  Paris 
in  1485,  and  bearing  the  title :  Chorea  ab  exiinio 
Macabro  versibus  alemanicis  edita,  etc.,  from  which 
it  appears  that  the  word  Macabre  was  then  sup- 
posed to  be  derived  from  a  distinguished  German 
poet,  Macabrus,  who  composed  the  rhymes.  Un- 
fortunately for  this  theory,  no  poet  of  this  name 
ever  existed  in  Germany,  although  he  may  have 
owed  his  origin  to  a  confusion  with  Marcabrus,  a 
Provencal  poet  of  the  fourteenth  century,  who,  how- 
ever, sang  wholly  different  themes.     Nearly  a  dozen 


In   Ecclesiastical   Architecture     337 

more  or  less  ingenious  interpretations  have  been 
given  of  this  phrase,  which  is  probably  a  transla- 
tion and  corruption  of  the  mediaeval  Latin  Chorea 
Machabceonini,  so  called  because  the  seven  Mac- 
cabean  brothers  with  their  mother  were  originally 
the  principal  characters  in  it,  or  because  it  was  first 
celebrated  in  their  honour  on  the  day  (August  i) 
devoted  by  the  Church  to  their  memory  as  martyrs ; 
for  the  Dance  of  Death  was  represented  dramati- 
cally as  well  as  pictorially,  and  was  doubtless 
acted  in  cloisters  and  in  public  places  long  before 
it  became  the  subject  of  artistic  delineation.  The 
verses  explanatory  of  the  oldest  paintings  are 
always  in  the  form  of  a  dialogue  between  the  in- 
exorable destroyer  and  his  victims,  and  may  be 
regarded  as  fragments  of  the  original  play. 

In  England,  France,  Germany,  and  Switzerland 
some  fifty  cities  are  mentioned  as  having  had 
paintings  of  the  Dance  of  Death,  the  most  famous 
of  which  was  that  on  the  outer  wall  of  the  church- 
yard of  the  Dominican  cloister  in  Great  Bale,  made 
in  free  imitation  of  the  Klingenthal  fresco  about 
the  middle  of  the  fifteenth  century,  renovated  by 
Hans  Hugo  Klauber  in  1568,  and  ruthlessly  de- 
stroyed by  order  of  an  over-zealous  iconoclastic 
municipal  council  on  account  of  its  being  "  a  terror 
to  children  and  a  bugaboo  to  the  people  " — "  ein 
Kinderschreck  und  eine  Leutescheuche." 

The  libraries  of  Heidelberg,  Munich,  and  Paris 
contain  quite  a  number  of  manuscripts  with  minia- 
tures of  the    Dance  of  Death,  some  of  which  are 

Z 


22^  Animal    Symbolism 

really  superb  in  execution,  while  others  are  crude 
in  form,  but  not  without  a  certain  vigour  of  move- 
ment and  vividness  of  expression.  By  far  the 
finest  delineation  of  this  subject  is  Hans  Holbein's 
Imago  Mortis,  the  original  drawings  of  which,  now 
in  St.  Petersburg,  are  artistically  as  superior  to  all 
former  productions  of  the  kind  as  Goethe's  Faust 
is  to  the  folk-books  and  puppet-plays  that  describe 
the  uncanny  career  of  the  mediaeval  master  of  the 
black  art.  Holbein's  drawings  were  engraved  on 
wood  by  Hans  Liitzelburger.  These  cuts,  the 
proof-impressions  of  which,  published  at  Lyons 
and  Bale,  resemble  the  best  work  of  the  artist's 
pencil,  and  to  which  several  posthumous  sheets 
were  added  in  the  early  part  of  the  present  cen- 
tury, have  passed  through  more  than  a  hundred 
editions,  to  say  nothing  of  copies  on  copper  and 
lithographic  reproductions. 

In  the  Book  of  Hours  of  Geofifroy  Tory  are 
miniatures  of  a  like  character :  the  grim  skeleton 
is  mounted  on  a  black  horse,  with  a  scythe  on  his 
shoulder,  a  folded  letter  in  his  hand,  a  raven,  the 
ominous  bird  of  Odin,  flying  over  his  head,  and  his 
pathway  strewn  with  corpses.  In  a  copper-plate 
by  the  Nuremberger  Hans  Sebastian  Beham,  dated 
1 54 1,  and  bearing  the  inscription,  Oninem  in  Jioviine 
venvstatein  Mors  abolet  ("  Death  does  away  with 
all  beauty  in  man "),  Death  in  the  guise  of  a 
court-fool  surprises  a  richly-dressed  maiden  of  patri- 
cian birth,  while  gathering  a  bouquet  of  flowers. 
Beham  was  a  genial  artist,  but  a  lewd  fellow.     In 


In  Ecclesiastical  Architecture     339 

the  Berlin  Museum  is  an  engraving  of  Death  look- 
ing with  lustful  emotions  on  a  lascivious  pair,  on 
the  margin  of  which  are  written  these  words : 
"propter  quam  picturam  ex  civitate  ejectus  est." 
His  fellow-burghers  were  so  outraged  by  this  super- 
fluity of  obsceneness  that  they  compelled  him  to 
quit  the  city.  After  his  exile  he  went  rapidly  from 
bad  to  worse,  kept  a  brothel  in  Frankfort,  and,  in 
1550,  was  drowned  in  the  Main.  Well-preserved 
representations  of  Death's  triumphs,  painted  by 
Meglinger  in  the  sixteenth  century,  may  still  be 
seen  in  the  pediments  under  the  roof  of  the  long 
wooden  bridge  (Spreuer  Briicke)  over  the  Reuss  at 
Lucerne. 

The  spirit  of  the  Dance  of  Death  is  thoroughly 
democratic,  and  inculcates  the  doctrine  of  human 
equality  in  the  most  emphatic  and  impressive 
manner.  The  great  leveller  shows  no  considera- 
tion for  rank  or  dignity ;  the  lowest  is  not  beneath, 
nor  the  highest  above  his  notice ;  neither  emperor 
nor  pope  can  escape  his  dominion  or  refuse  to  obey 
his  behest.  He  clutches  the  rich  and  powerful  with 
a  rude  hand,  gently  lulls  the  infant  to  sleep,  and 
closes  the  weary  eyes  of  the  poor  and  oppressed 
with  a  touch  of  tenderness  and  compassion.  He 
delights  to  turn  the  tables  on  his  victims,  to  make 
a  mockery  of  human  faculty  and  function,  and 

"  to  have  the  engineer 
Hoist  with  his  own  petard." 

Thus  he  presents  the  monarch  a  fatal  potion  in  a 
goblet  set  with  jewels,  capers  with  the  king's  jester 


340  Animal    Symbolism 


towards  an  open  grave,  breaks  the  judge's  staff  of 
office  over  his  head,  strikes  down  the  miser  with 
his  heavy  bag  of  hoarded  wealth,  pierces  the  cook 
through  with  a  spit,  combats  the  cavalier  on  horse- 
back, tilts  with  a  lance  against  the  knight  in  the 
lists,  plays  the  gallant  with  coquettes,  catches  the 
fowler  in  a  snare,  points  to  the  doctor's  pills  and 
tinctures  and  bids  him  heal  himself,  seizes  the 
apothecary  in  the  midst  of  his  drugs,  snatches  the 
priest  from  the  altar  as  he  is  praying  souls  out  of 
purgatory,  gives  the  astronomer  a  skull  in  the  form 
of  a  globe,  and  says  to  the  astrologer,  who  casts 
the  horoscope  of  others,  but  is  ignorant  of  his  own 
fate— 

"  Tu  dis  par  amphibologie 
Ce  qu'aux  aultres  doibt  advenir  ; 
Dys-moy  done  par  astrologie 
Quand  du  debvras  a  moy  venir." 

"  You  tell  by  amphibology 
What  unto  others  is  to  be  ; 
Now  tell  me  by  astrology 
When  are  you  to  come  to  me." 

Honore  de  Sainte  Marie,  a  popular  and  sensa- 
tional preacher  of  the  latter  half  of  the  seventeenth 
century,  was  wont  to  take  skulls  into  the  pulpit 
and  address  them  in  the  sarcastic  moralizing  style 
of  Hamlet.  To  the  skull  of  a  judge  he  would  say  : 
"  Speak  now,  hast  thoij  not  sold  justice  for  gold, 
and  refused  to  listen  to  the  pleadings  of  the  poor  ? " 
The  skull  of  a  flirt  he  would  apostrophize  in  the 
following  strain :  "  Art  thou  not  the  head  of  one 
of  those  fair  dames  whose  chief  occupation  was  to 


In   Ecclesiastical  Architecture     341 


lay  snares  for  human  hearts,  and  to  catch  them 
with  honeyed  words  as  birds  are  taken  with  lime  ? 
Well  then,  empty  and  musty  sconce,  where  are 
those  fine  eyes,  with  their  fond  and  furtive  glances  ? 
Where  are  those  beautiful  teeth,  which  bit  so  many 
hearts,  and  made  them  more  easily  devoured  by  the 
devil  ?  Where  those  delicate  ears,  into  which  fops 
have  so  lovingly  whispered,  seeking  through  these 
avenues  easy  access  to  the  heart  ?  What  has 
become  of  those  lilies  and  roses,  which  thou  didst 
suffer  to  be  plucked  by  unchaste  kisses  ? "  It 
would  be  interesting  to  know  whether  the  idea  of 
delivering  such  discourses  was  original  with  the 
French  divine,  or  borrowed  from  Hamlet's  medi- 
tations in  the  churchyard.  The  most  probable 
supposition  is  that  these  sermons  were  suggested 
by  the  Dance  of  Death,  inasmuch  as  the  Shake- 
sperian  dramas  were  little  read  and  indeed  hardly 
known  in  France  at  that  time,  and  it  was  not  until 
a  much  later  period  that  they  began  to  be  generally 
appreciated  even  in  England. 

It  would  be  wholly  foreign  to  the  scope  of  the. 
present  work  to  consider  at  length  the  different 
forms  in  which  death  has  been  represented  in  art. 
To  the  poetic  imagination  and  fine  aesthetic  sense 
of  the  Greeks  the  genius  of  death  was  not  a  grim 
monster,  but  a  graceful  youth  leaning  on  an  inverted 
torch,  the  twin  brother  of  sleep,  as  Homer  calls  him, 
and  it  was  not  till  the  twelfth  century  of  the  Chris- 
tian era  that  he  began  to  be  personified  and  por- 
trayed as  a  mummy  or  a  skeleton.     The  Dance  of 


342  Animal    Symbolism 

Death  doubtless  originated  in  the  Dance  of  the 
Dead  (Todtentanz,  Danse  des  Morts),  which  accord- 
ing to  popular  superstition  took  place  in  church- 
yards at  the  ghostly  hour  of  midnight.  The 
remarkable  fascination  of  the  theme  is  evident 
from  the  frequency  with  which  it  has  been  por- 
trayed by  modern  artists,  as,  for  example,  by  Alfred 
Rethel  in  six  admirable  xylographs  of  Death  on 
the  barricades  and  in  revolutionary  and  reactionary 
contests  suggested  by  the  political  events  of  1848, 
in  the  woodcuts  of  I  lie,  Pocci,  and  Barth,  the  ex- 
cellent series  of  India-ink  drawings  by  Otto  Seitz, 
and  the  more  recent  and  uncommonly  clever 
sketches  by  Luhrig.  In  these  and  similar  works 
Death  figures  as  a  working-man  in  a  blouse  preach- 
ing insurrection,  as  the  "  walking  delegate  "  of  a 
labour  union  organizing  a  general  strike,  as  a  Jesuit 
urging  a  monarch  to  resist  by  force  of  arms  the  will 
of  the  people,  as  a  diplomatist  seated  at  a  table 
and  kindling  war  by  a  single  stroke  of  his  pen,  as  a 
Swiss  guide  leading  a  company  of  tourists  through 
a  mist  over  a  precipice,  as  a  careless  switchman 
plunging  an  express  train  into  an  abyss,  and  finally 
in  the  newest  and  most  destructive  role  of  an 
anarchist  and  dynamiter. 


BIBLIOGRAPHY 

Adeline,  Jules  :  Les   Sculptures   Grotesques   et   Sym- 

boliques  (Rouen  et  environs).     Rouen,  1879. 
Ahrens,  Karl  :  Zur  Geschichte  des  sogenannten  Physio- 

logus,  Programm   des  Gymnasiums  zu   Ploen,    1885, 

No.  251. 
Allen,   J.   Romilly  :    Christian   Symbolism   in    Great 

Britain  and  Ireland  before   the  Thirteenth   Century. 

London,  1887. 
On  the  Norman  Doorway  at  Alne  in   Yorkshire. 

Art.    in   The   Journal   of  the    British    Archaeological 

Association.     Vol.  xlii.,  pp.  143-158. 
AuBER,  l'Abbe  Charles  Auguste  :  Histoire  et  Theorie 

du  Symbolisme  religieux  avant   et   depuis   le  Chris- 

tianisme.     4  vols.     Poitiers,  1872. 
Audsley,  Wm.,  Manual  of  Christian  Symbolism.  London, 

1865. 
Berger  de  Xivrey  :  Traditions  Teratologiques.     Paris, 

1836. 
Boylesve,  Marin  de  :  Les  Animaux  et  leurs  Applica- 
tions Symboliques  h  I'Ordre  Spirituel.     Paris,  1881. 
Breysig,   J.   A. :    Worterbuch   der   Bildersprache   oder 

Angaben     symbolischer     und     allegorischer     Bilder. 

Leipzig,  1830. 
Bulletin  Monumental.     Vols.  xi. — xxix.     Caen,   1846 — 

1854. 
Cahier,   Charles  :   Melanges  d'Archeologie.     4   vols. 

Paris,  1847 — 1856. 


344  Bibliography 

Cahier,  Charles:  Nouveaux  Melanges  d'x\rche'ologie. 
4  vols.     Paris,  1874 — 1877. 

Monographie   de   la   Cathe'dral   de    Bourges,    ou 

Vitraux  de  Bourges.     Paris,  1841 — 1844. 

Caracte'ristiques  des  Saints   dans   I'Art  Populaire. 


Paris,  1844. 
Carus,  J.  Victor  :  Geschichte  der  Zoologie.     Vol.  xii. 

of  Geschichte  der  Wissenschaften.     Munich,  1872. 
Champfleury  (pseudonym  of  Jules  Fleury)  :  Histoire 

de  la  Caricature  moderne.     Paris,  1865. 

Histoire  de  la  Caricature  au  Moyen  Age  et  sous 

la  Renaissance.     2nd  ed.     Paris,  1875. 

Les     Sculptures    Grotesques     et     Symboliques. 


Rouen,  1879. 
—   Histoire  de  la  Caricature  sous  la  Reforme  et  la 


Ligue.     Paris,  1880. 
Clement,    Felix  :    L'Ane    au    Moyen    Age    (Annales 

Archeologiques,  vols,  xv.,  xvi.). 
Crosnier,  l'Abbe  :  Iconografie  Chre'tienne.    Caen,  1848. 
Dahlerup,  Verner  :  Bibliography  of  the  Physiologus  in 

Aarboger  for  Nordisk  Oldkyndighed  og  Historie  ud- 

given   af  Det   kongelige   Nordiske    Oldskrift-Selskab. 

1889. 
Denkwiirdiger  und  Niitzlicher  Antiquarius  des  Neckar- 

Mayn-  Lahn-  und  Moselstroms.     Frankfurt  am  Mayn, 

1740. 
Didron,  a.  N.  :  Histoire   de   Dieu,    Iconographie   des 

Personnes  Divines.     Paris,  1843. 

Manuel  d'Iconographie  Chre'tienne.     Paris,  1845. 

Annales  Arche'ologiques.     Paris,  1844 — 1872. 

Dietrichson,   L.  :  De  Norske  Stavkirker ;  studier  over 

deres    system,    aprindelse    og    historiske    Udvikling. 

Kristiania  og  Kjobenhavn,  1892. 


Bibliography  345^ 

DiETRiCHSON,  Dr.  L.  und  Munthe  H.  :  Die  Holzbau- 

kunst  Norwegens  in  Vergangenheit   und   Gegenwart. 

Berlin,  1893,  pp.  25-27. 
Douce,    F.  :    Dissertation    on    the    Dance    of    Death. 

London,  1833. 
Du  Cange  (Charles  Dufresne)  :  Glossarium.    Festum, 

1678. 
DuMONTiER,  G. :  Les   Symboles,  les    Emblemes   et   les 

Accessoires  du  Culte.     Paris,  1891. 
DuRSCH,    G.    M. :    Der    SymboHsche    Charakter     der 

Christlichen     Religion     und    Kunst.      Schaffhausen, 

i860. 
Du  TiLLOT :  Memoires  pour  servir  a  la  Fete  des  Fous. 

1741. 
Ebers,  Georg  :  Sinnbildliches,    Die  Koptische   Kunst, 

ein  neues  Gebiet  der  Altchristlichen  Sculptur  und  ihre 

Symbole.     Mit  14  Zinkotypien.     Leipzig,  1892. 
FiORiLLO,  J.  D. :  Kleinere  Schriften  artistischen  Inhalts. 

2  vols.     Gottingen,  1803 — 1806. 
Garrucci,  Raffaele:  Storia  della   Arte  Cristiana.     4 

vols.     Prato,  1879. 
Guerard,    F.  :    Recherches    sur    la    Fete    des    Fous. 

Amiens,  1861. 
Guillaume,  clerc  de  Normandie  :  Le  Bestiaire  Divin. 

Best  edition  by  Reinsch.     Leipzig,  1890. 
Heider,  Gustav  :  tJber  Thiersymbolik  und  das  Symbol  . 

des  Lowen  in  der  Christlichen  Kunst.     Wien,  1849. 
Die    Romanische    Kirche    zu    Schongrabern    in 

Nieder-Oesterreich.       Ein    Beitrag    zur     Christlichen 

Kunst- Archaologie.     Wien,  1855. 
Knight,   Gally:  Ueber  die   Entwickelung  der  Archi- 

tectur  vom  x.   bis  xiv.   Jahrhundert  unter  den  Nor- 

manen.     Leipzig,  1841. 


34^  Bibliography 

KoLOFF,    Eduard  :  Die    sagenhafte    und    symbolische 

Thiergeschichte    des    Mittelalters.      Raumer's    Hist. 

Taschenbuch,  1867,  pp.  179-269. 
Kraus,    Franz    Xaver  :    Kunst    und    Alterthum    im 

Unter-Elsass.     Strasburg,  1876. 
Kreuser,    Joh.  :    Der    christliche    Kirchenbau,    seine 

Geschichte,  Symbolik,  Bildnerei   nebst  Andeutungen 

fiir  Neubauten.     2  vols.     Bonn,    1851  ;  revised   ed., 

Regensburg,  i860. 
Kugler,  Franz  :  Kleine  Schriften  und  Studien.     Vol.  i. 

Stuttgart,  1853. 
Lange,    Konrad  :    Der    Papstesel.     Bin    Beitrag    zur 

Kultur-  und  Kunstgeschichte  der  Reformation.     Got- 

tingen,  1891. 
Langlois,  E.  H.  :  Les  Stalles  de  la  Cathedral  de  Rouen. 

Rouen,  1838. 
Lauchert,    Friedrich  :    Geschichte    des   Physiologus. 

Strasburg,  1889. 

(This  exhaustive  work  contains  a  very  full  account  of 

editions  and  translations.) 
L'Esprit:    Histoire   des   Chiffres   et   des    13   Premiers 

Nombres.     Paris,  1893. 
Luther,  Martin  :   Abbildung   des  Bapstum.     Witten- 
berg, 1545. 
und  Melanchthon  :  Deutung  der  czwo  grewlichen 

Figuren    Bapstesels   czu    Rom   und    Munchkalbs   zu 

Freyberg.     Wittenberg,  1523. 
Lycosthenes  :  Prodigiorum  ac  Ostentorum  Chronicon. 

Basil,  1557. 
Maxima  Bibliotheca  Veterum  Patrum.    27  vols.    Leyden, 

1677. 
Meissner  :  Articles  in  Herrig's  Archiv  fiir  das  Studium 

der  neueren  Sprachen  und  Literatur.     Vols.  Ivi. — Iviii. 


Bibliography  347 

Menzel,    Wolfgang  :    Christliche   Symbolik.      2   vols. 

Regensburg,  1854. 
MiJLLER,    SoPHUS :    Die   Thierornamentik   im   Norden. 

Aus    dem    Danischen    von    J.   Mestorf.      Hamburg, 

1881. 
Napier,  Arthur  S.:   History  of  the  Holy  Rood-Tree, 

a  Twelfth-Century  Version  of  the  Cross-Legend.    With 

notes    by   the   editor,    Professor    Arthur    S.    Napier. 

London,  1894. 
Neale,  J.  M.,  and  Webb,  Benj.  :  Du  Symbolisme  dans 

les  Eglises  du  Moyen  Age.     Avec  une  Introduction, 

des  Additions   et   des   Notes   par   M.    L'Abbe'   J.   J. 

Bourassd     Tours,  1847. 

(The   second   part   (pp.    255-402)   is   an   extended 

summary  of  William  Durand's  Rationale   Divinorum 

Officiorum,  which  was  printed  at  Mayence  in  145 9-) 
NoRDSTERN  (pseudonym  of  Nostitz  und  Janckendorf), 

GoTTL.    Adolf    Ernst:    Sinnbilder    der    Christen. 

Leipzig,  181 8. 
Paulus,  Eduard  :  Kunst-  und  Alterthums-Denkmale  im 

Konigreich  Wiirttemberg.     Stuttgart,  1889-93.     Text, 

with  numerous  illustrations  and  large  plates. 
Peignot,  E.  G.  :  Recherches  sur  les  Danses  des  Morts 

et  sur  rOrigine  des  Cartes  k  jouer.     Paris,  1826. 
Philippe  de  Thaun  :  Le  Livre  des   Creatures.     Vide 

Wright's   Popular    Treatises   on   Science   during    the 

Middle  Ages,  pp.  74-131- 
[PiNDER   Ulrich]  :    Der   beschlossen   gart   des    rosen- 

krants  Marie.     2  vols.     Nurnberg,  1505. 

(According  to  the  colophon  this  work  was  Gedrukt 

vn   volendet    zu    Niirmberk   durch    doctor   Vlrichen 

Pinter  /  an  tag  Dyonisiy  /  Nach  Cristi  vnsers  lieben 

herren  geburt  M.  fiinff  hundert  vnd  fiinff  jar.) 


34^  Bibliography 

Piper,  Ferdinand  :  Mythologie  und  Syrabolik  dei' 
christlichen  Kunst  von  den  altesten  Zeiten  bis  in  das 
1 6  Jahrhundert.     2  vols.     Weimar,  1847 — 1851. 

PiTON,  Frederic  :  La  Cathedral  de  Strasbourg.  Stras- 
bourg, 1 86 1. 

PiTRA,  J.  B.  :  Spicilegium  Solesmense  complectens 
Sanctorum  Patrum  scriptorumque  Ecclesiasticorum 
anecdota  hactenus  opera  selecta  e  grsecis  orientali- 
busque  et  latinis  codicibus.  Tom.  i. — iv.  Paris, 
1851— 1858. 

Publications  of  Early  English  Text  Society.  Vols, 
xlvi. — xlviii.     London,  1865-66. 

Revue  Arche'ologique.     Paris,  1844 — 1892. 

Revue  de  I'Art  Chretien.  Especially  vols.  vi. — xx.  Paris, 
1845— 1877. 

RiCHTER,  Christian  :  Uber  die  fabelhaften  Thiere. 
Gotha,  1797. 

Rudolphi,  Friedrich  :  Gotha  Diplomatica  oder  Aus- 
fiihrliche  Historische  Beschreibung  des  Fiirstenthums 
Sachsen-Gotha.  Vol.  ii.,  p.  310.  Frankfurt  am  Main 
und  Leipzig,  171 7. 

Schadow,  J.  G. :  Wittenberg's  Denkmaler  der  Bild- 
nerei,  Baukunst  und  Malerei,  mit  historischen  und 
artistischen  Erlauterungen.     Wittenberg,  1825. 

Scheible,  J. :  Das  Kloster,  weltlich  und  geistlich,  meist 
aus  den  altesten  deutschen  Volks-Wundercuriositaten 
und  komischen  Literatur.  A  curious  compilation  in 
13  vols.  Stuttgart,  1845 — 1849.  Vide  especially 
vols,  vii.,  ix.,  and  xii. 

ScHNAASE,  Karl  :  Geschichte  der  bildenden  Kiinste  im 
Mittelalter.    Especially  vol.  iv.   Diisseldorf,  1843 — 1864. 

Sepet,  Marius  :  Le  Drame  Chretien  au  Moyen  Age. 
Paris,  1878. 


Bibliography  349 

ViLLETTE,  Claude  :  Raisons  de  I'Office.     Paris,  1601. 
ViOLLET-LE-Duc :  Dictionnaire  Raisonne  de  I'Architec- 

ture  Frangaise  du  ii""^  au  16"""  Siecle.     Paris,  1853. 
VoLLMOLLER,       Carl  :       Romanische       Forschungen, 

Erlangen,  i8go.     Bd.  v.  pp.  1-12,  13-36,  392-418. 

1.  Zum    Physiologus   von    Fried.    Lauchert.      (An 
account  of  Cecco  d'Ascoli's   "  Acerba.") 

2.  Der  athiopische  Physiologus  von  Fritz  Hommel. 
(A  revised  German  translation.) 

3.  Der  waldensische  Physiologus  von  Alfons  ]\Iayer. 
(The  first  publication  of  the  original  text.) 

[VuLPius,  Aug.]  :  Curiositaten  der  physisch-  literarisch- 

artistisch-  historischen  Vor-  und  Mitwelt  zur  angeneh- 

men   Unterhaltung   fiir    gebildete    Leser.    10    Bande. 

Weimar,  181 1 — 1823.    Especially  vol.  vi.,  pp.  133-142. 
Weerth,  Ernst  aus'm:  Kunstdenkmaler  des  christlichen 

Mittelalters  in  den  Rheinlanden.     5  Bande  Text  und 

Tafeln.     Leipzig,  1857 — 1868. 
Wessely,   J.   E. :    Die   Gestalten    des   Todes   und   des 

Teufels  in  der  darstellenden  Kunst.     Leipzig,  1876. 
Wright,  Thomas  :  Popular  Treatises  on  Science  during 

the  Middle  Ages.     London,  1841. 
History  of  Caricature  and  the  Grotesque.    London, 

1875- 
and  Halliwell  :  Reliqu^e  Antique.    London,  184 1 

—1843. 
Zeddel,    F.    C.  :    Beitrage     zur    biblischen    Zoologie. 

Quedlinburg,  1836. 
Zeitschrift  fiir  deutsche   Kulturgeschichte.     Vol.   i.,   pp. 

463-69 ;  708  sq. 
ZocKLER,    O. :  Geschichte    der    Beziehungen   zwischen  - 

Theologieund  Naturwissenschaft.     2  vols.    Giitersloh, 

1887— 1889. 


INDEX 


Aaron's  rod,  two  specimens  of,  287 
Ahelard,   his   verse   on   the   lion's 

whelp,  82 
Abraham,  signifies  faitli,  67  ;  sac- 
rificing Isaac,  84 
Actors,  declared  infamous,  263 
Adam,  author  of  a  natural  history, 

55,56 
Adamant,  type  of  Christ,  45 
Adamites,  114 

^•/(/(fZ/z^V/ of  Louvraine,  Queen,  71 
yEHa  Capitolina,  294 
^lian,  on  the  remora,  125  ;  on  the 

ichneumon,  132  ;  on  the  beaver, 

139 

^sckyhis,  '  Eumenides,'  299 

Actites,  or  eagle-stone,  49 

Agate,  virtue  of,  35  ;  worn  in  June, 
37  ;  in  pearl-fishing,  47 

Agizus  Dei,  in  art,  308 

Agrasandhdni,  Indian  book  of 
judgment,  331 

Airneric  de  Pregidhan,  simile  of 
the  phoenix,  131;  basilisk  and 
mirror,  165 

Aix-la-  Chapelle,  Bacchanal  and 
other  pagan  scenes  in  the  min- 
ster of,  303 ;  amethyst  with  the 
three  Graces  in  the  cross  of 
Lothair,  308 

Alberttts  Magnus,  his  criticism  of 
the  '  Physiologus,'  78  ;  on  the 
African  viper's  horn,  109  ;  on 
the  beaver,  139;  on  the  wolf, 
151  ;  on  the  basiHsk,  169 


Albrccht  von  Brandenburg,  136 
Alces,  or  elks,  described  by  Julius 

Cajsar,  112 
Aldhebn,  his  parables,  66 
Atemannicgods,T&\txtA  at  Bregenz, 

307  ;   destroyed  by  St.   Gallus, 

307 

Alexander  the  Great,  embalmed 
with  honey,  4 ;  services  to 
science,  21  ;  wisdom,  116  ;  lover 
in  '  Lai  d'Aristote,'  226 — 228 

Alexander  III. ,  Pope,  his  salaman- 
der tunic,  142 

Alexander  VI.,  Pope,  his  coat-of- 
arms,  201  ;  scandalous  life,  202 

Alexandria,  ?,c}iiOo\%  oi,  II,  16,  26; 
commerce  and  culture  under  the 
Ptolemies,  11,  25  ;  libraries  and 
learning,  26 

All  Souls'  Day,  pagan  feast  of  the 
dead,  264 

Almond,  symbolism  of  the  flower- 
ing, 166,  167 

Alne,  sculptures  on  the  doorway  of 
church  at,  50,  51  ;  eagle,  118; 
whale,  124 ;  panther,  135  ; 
hyena,  142  ;  charadrius,  146 ; 
antelope,   174 

Amboise,  church  of  St.  Denis, 
foxes  as  pilgrims  witnessing  the 
slaughter  of  the  Innocents,  211  ■ 

Ajnbrosius,  the  "mellifluous,"  3; 
allegorical  exegesis,  40  ;  on  the 
viper  and  lamprey,  55  ;  Latin 
'  Physiologus '  attributed  to,  64  ; 


3S^ 


Index 


on  locusts  as  Gentiles,  167 ; 
symbolism  of  animals,   185 

Amethyst,  anti-inebriant  virtue  of, 
35  ;  associated  with  February, 
37  ;  in  the  New  Jerusalem,  39 

Amianthus,  supposed  to  be  sala- 
mander's skin,  142 

Amiens  Cathedral,  Virtues  and 
Vices  personified,  153;  Samson, 
192  ;  fox  preaching  to  fowls,  212 

Amor,  his  duel  with  and  likeness 
to  a  bee,  2  ;  Amor  and  Psyche 
as  Christian  emblems,  309 

Amorozzo  da  Firenze,  lady-love 
likened  to  a  lion,   93 

Amphitheatre,  sports  of,  23 

Amsdorf,  Nicholas  von,  letter  to 
Luther,  203 

Anacreon,  Eros  compared  to  a 
bee,  I 

Anasiasiits  Sinaita,  his  anagogical 
contemplations,  61 

Anclam,  sirens  in   St.    Nicholas', 

317 

Ancona,  lion  in  church  at,  87 

Andely,  Henri  d\  his  '  Lai  d'Aris- 
tote'  cited,  226,  228 

Andvaregold,  323,  325 

Angoumois,  asinine  catechism  of, 
268,  269 

Animals,  primitive  superstitions 
about,  8  ;  prophetic  movements 
of,  9 ;  early  worship  of,  10 ; 
corrupted  by  Adam's  fall,  29  ; 
redeemed  and  regenerated  by 
Christ's  death,  30 ;  Roman 
passion  for  pets,  24 ;  occult  and 
magical  properties  of,  26 ;  as 
human  mirrors  and  heavenly 
prototypes,  27,  28,  30 ;  in 
Oriental  literature  and  especi- 
ally in  Buddhistic  teachings,  30 
— 33 ;  in  Christian  art,  53 ; 
Roger  Bacon's  theory  of  their 
place  in  Scripture,  58 ;  as 
symbols  of  the  conflict  between 
Christianity  and  paganism,  130  ; 


used  to  illustrate  opposite  quali- 
ties, 91,  109,  131  ;  an  initial 
and  capital  letters,  152 ;  their 
prominence  in  Church  ornament- 
ation of  the  eleventh  and  twelfth 
centuries,  179,  180;  protests 
against  their  presence  in  sacred 
places,  180 — 185;  ethical  and 
satirical  purposes  of,  185 — 188, 
193 — 195  ;  caricaturing  religious 
rites,  188  ;  fanciful  and  grotesque 
delineations  of,  216 — 226,  232 
— 245  ;  in  satirical  delineations, 
320  ;  woman  compared  to  differ- 
ent, 332 

Annunciation,  symbolized  by  the 
chase  of  the  unicorn,  96 ;  auri- 
cular conception  in  pictures  of 
the,  98 — 100 

Anselm,  cited,  40 

Ant,  pattern  for  Buddhist  ascetic, 

Antelope,  symbolism  of,    173  ;    in 

poetry  and  art,  174 
Anti-Semitism,    in  art,    19,   289 — 

299 
Anti-Semitic      satire,      292 — 294, 

297 
Ape,  ridden  by  Avarice,   163  ;    in 

sacred    architecture,     186,     189, 

215,  218,  219,  223,  235 
Apis,  sacred  bull,  sign  of,  14 
Apocalypse,   monsters   of    the,  30, 

Apollo,  the  purifier,  299  ;  as  Elias, 

309 

April,  consecrated  to  Venus,  121 

Apuleius,  cited,  139 

Aqua  marine,  associated  with 
October,  37 

Architects,  secular,  supplant  monk- 
ish, 186 

'  Areopagitica,'  Milton's,  cited,  121 

Argonauts,  purified  by  swine's 
blood,  299 

Argus  and  lo,  Christian  apologue 
of,  313,  314 


Index 


353 


Arians,  banished,  238 

Ariosto,  on  lovers  symbolized  by 
eaglets,  119,  120 

Aristotle,  scientific  study  of  nature, 
22 ;  Christianization  of,  43 ; 
fable  of  eagle's  beak,  119;  in 
discussion  with  Logic,  154 ; 
ridiculed  in  '  Lai  d'Aristote,' 
226 — 228 

Aries,  synod  of,  252 ;  centaurs  in 
St.  Trophine's,  318;  weighing 
souls,  330 

Arsenal  Library,  bestiaries  in, 
iiS 

Art,  Christian  imitates  pagan,  309 

Ascension,  celebration  of,  265 

Ass,  type  of  humility,  31  ;  as 
monk  or  priest,  186,  189 ;  in 
architecture,  194;  papal,  195 — 
203 ;  with  rosary,  241 — 
243  ;  as  the  homologue  of  the 
cathedral,  267  ;  in  the  Angou- 
mois  catechism,  268  ;  Feast  of 
the,  265,  267,  271—280;  wor- 
shipped by  Jews  and  Christians, 
270  ;  superiority  of  the  Oriental, 
269 ;  drawing  of  ass-worship  in 
the  Palatine,  270 ;  of  St. 
Bernard,  and  other  effigies  in 
churches,  271  ;  litany  of  the, 
272 — 277 ;  symbol  of  the 
Saviour,  278 ;  tradition  of  the 
"true,"  272;  interpretation  of 
the  litany  of  the,  278  ;  type  of 
the  Jews,  279 

Assisi,  Giotto's  centaur  in  cloister 
at,  320 

Atle,  cutting  out  the  heart  of 
Hogne,  324 

Atonement,  symbolized  by  a  simple 
cross,  308 

Azigslmrg,  lion  in  cathedral  of,  82  ; 
centaurs,  318 

Augustine,  cited,  58,  87,  88,  91, 
92  ;  on  auricular  conception,  99  ; 
on  the  pelican,  128  ;  cited,  185  ; 
on  the  peacock's  flesh,  311 


Aulnay,  ass  as  priest  in  St.  Peter's 
church,  225,  277 

Austad,  Siegfried  saga,  324 

Aututi,  fox  and  crane  in  cathedral 
of,  209 ;  weighing  souls,  329 , 
330 ;  devil,  335 

Auvergne,  devils  and  angels  forg- 
ing heads,  333 

Avesta,  appreciation  of  the  dog  in 
the,  91 

Aveyron,  devil  weighing  souls, 
328 

Avicenna,  cited,  43 

Bacchus,  type  of  the  Christian 
vineyard,  301,  303,  308 

Bacon,  Roger,  his  spiritual  interpre- 
tation of  natural  things,  58 

Bale,  carvings  in  minster  :  phcenix 
and  pelican,  129;  Jews  and  sow, 
297  ;  Pyramus  and  Thisbe,  304, 
305 ;  centaurs  with  heads  of 
bishops,  monks,  and  nuns,  321  ; 
devil  and  angel  taking  notes, 
330  ;  '  Dance  of  Death,'  337 

Bale,  lohn,   on  the  Romish  fox, 

Bamberg,  queer  religious  relics  in, 

286,  287 
Baj-bazan,  Etienne,  his  collection  of 

fables  and  tales,  226 
Bar-Cochba,  revolt  of,  294 
Barlaam  und  Josaphat.     See  Rti- 

dolfvon  Ems 
Barnabas,    his    epistle    cited,    on 

Judaism,  53 ;  on  the  symbolism 

of  Abraham,  67  ;  on  the  hyena, 

140  ;  on  the  prefiguration  of  the 

cross,  249 
Barnacle  geese,  symbolism  of,  174, 

175 
Bar  Shalom,   Rabbi  Jehuda,    his 

apologue  on  circumcision,  262 
Barth,  his  '  Dance  of  Death,'  342 
Bartholomczzis  Anglicus,  cited,  74 
Basil  the  Great,  his  '  Hexaheme- 

ron  '  cited,  18,  55,  57 

A  A 


354 


Index 


Basilisk,  symbolism  of  the,  163 — 

166  ;  represents  Antichrist,  167  ; 

method  of  killing  it,  164,  168; 

in   the  abbey  of    Vezelai,    166, 

168 
Bastard,  M.  de,  on  the  snail,  218 
Batrachitians,  heretical  sect,  238 
Bayoniie,   wooden    ass    in    Saint- 

EsjDrit's  at,  271 
Bazas   Cathedral,  weighing  souls, 

330 
Bear,  type  of  Satan,  88 ;   in  the 

beast-epos,  189,  214,  215 
Beast-epos    in    architecture,     185 ; 

used  for  polemical  purposes,  193; 

scenes  from,  213 — 222,  235,  236 
Beasts  of  ill-07nen,  in  churches  and 

cloisters,  179,  180 
Beativais,  ass's  feast  in,  277 
Beaver,  symbolism  of,  138  ;  in  art, 

139 

Bebenhaiiseit,  lion  in  cloister,  83 

Becket.     See  Thomas  d.  Becket 

Beda,  cited,  66  ;  on  locusts  sym- 
bolizing Gentiles,  166 

Bee,  Eros  compared  to  a,  I ;  sym- 
bol of  immortality  on  tombs, 
otherwise  rare  in  Christian  art, 
3 ;  in  Greek,  Oriental,  and 
modem  poetry,  i — 3;  hive  typi- 
cal of  the  cloister  with  the 
Virgin  Mary  as  queen  bee,  3  ; 
Christ  the  asthereal  and  Krishna 
the  azure  bee,  4  ;  in  Somadeva's 
tales,  5  ;  relief  in  the  baptistery 
of  Parma,  5  ;  golden  bee  sym- 
bolic of  sovereignty,  4  ;  symbol- 
ism of  a  broken  bee-hive,  223. 
See  Honey 

Beghards,  vagabond  monks  satir- 
ized, 233 

Begtdnes,  their  licentiousness 
scourged,   187 

Behajii,  Hans  Sebastian,  his  repre- 
sentation of  Death,  338 

Bell,  symbolism  of  the  church, 
524 — 256  ;  bells  of  the  Gospel 


and  trumpets  of  the  Law,  255  ;  a 

terror  to  demons,  257 
Belleropkon,  301 
Belli,     Valeria,     his     phoenix     in 

enamel,    130 
Bellona,  relief  in  a  church  at  Trier, 

307 

Benedict  IX. ,  220 

Benedictines,  other  orders  hated 
and  satirized  by  them,  225,  231 

Ben  Jochai,  Rabbi  Simon,  his  fable 
on  the  Sabbath,  262 

Berbezilh,  Richard  de,  cited,  93 

Berlin  Museum,  painting  by 
Lucas  Cranach,  i  ;  Beham's 
representation  of  Death,  339 

Bernard  of  Clairvaiix,  cited,  3  ; 
his  protest  against  fabulous  beasts 
in  cloisters,  180,  181,  183 — 185  ; 
an  ass  and  arch-priest,  225  ;  ass 
of,  271  ;  cited,  278 

Bernardines,  satirical  works  of  art 
in  their  cloisters,  225 

Beryl,  virtues  of,  37,  39 

Bestiaries,  Waldensian,  49 ;  chief 
source  of  the,  59  ;  French,  71  ; 
Tusco-Venetian,  73  ;  codices  in 
Italian  libraries,  73,  74  ;  '  Besti" 
aire  Divin'  (see  William  of  Nor- 
mandy) ;  English  bestiary  on 
the  panther,  133;  derivation  of 
panther  in  the,  137;  on  the 
wolf,  150.  See  '  Physiologies  '  for 
animals  mentioned  in  the  besti- 
aries 

Bethlehem,  star  of,  278 ;  relics  of 
rays  from  star  of,  289 

Beverly,  carving  of  animals  in  the 
minster  (St.  Mary's)  of,  220 — 
223 

Bible  as  source  of  all  knowledge, 
27 

BMiolatry,  origin  of,  263 

Biblioteca  Laurenziana  in  Flor- 
ence, 74 ;  Ricciardiana,  73 

Bishop-fish,  198,  199 

Bivalve,  symbolism  of  the,  47 


Index 


355 


Black  Friars,  satirized,  220 

'  Blasme  des  Fames,'  quoted,  332 

Boccaccio,    on  heliotrope,    35  ;  list 

of  relics,  289 
Bochart,    Samuel,    cited,    on   uni- 
corn's horn,  107 
Bddhitree,     sacred    to    Buddhists, 

252 
Bodleian  Library,  ivory  carving  in, 

161 
Bonaventitra,  symbolist,  185 
Bonn,   recording   angel  and  devil 

in  the  minster  of,  330 
Book  of  Ar»tagh,  illuminations  in, 

118 
Bordeaux,  Council  of,  184 
Bbsigk,  F.  L.,  on  the  derision  of 

Jews,  299  tioie 
Boston,    Lincolnshire,    carvings  in 

St.  Botolph's,  96,  232,  234 
Bourassee,  Abbe,  cited,  256 
Bourges,  lion  in  cathedral  of,  %t,  ; 

gospel-mill,    160  ;  beasts  of  the 

evangelists,  161;  weighing  souls, 

328,  329 
Brandenburg  Cathedral,  reliefs  of 

animals,  237 
Bregenz,  Alemannic  gods  at,  307 
Braiz,   centaurs   shooting  arrows, 

318 
Brest,    devil  noting  female  gossip 

during  mass  in,  332 
Bristol   Cathedral,    carvings    from 

beast-epos     and     other    poems, 

213 — 216 
British  Museum,  71  ;  metal  plate 

in  the,  118 
Bron,  painting  of  Christ  triumph- 
ant in  the  church  of,  161 
Bruges,    execution   of    fox   in   St. 

Michael  and  St.  Ursin  at,  212, 

213 

Brunetfo  Latino,  cited,  74  ;  on  the 
whale,  123  ;  on  the  wolf,  151 

Brunhild,  321 

Brussels,  Royal  Library  of,  50  ; 
eagle  and  eaglets,  iiS 


Buddhism,    animal  s3Tnbolism  in, 

31—33 
Buffoonery  in  churches,  279 
Bufonite,  endowed  with  medicinal 

and  magical  properties,  34 
Biirger,  G.  A.,  his  ballad  quoted, 

216 
Burgos    Cathedral,    grotesque  and 

satirical  carvings,  232 
Burkhart    von  ILohenfels,  on    the 

unicorn's  honi,  108 
Burlesque  of  sacred  rites,  279,  28 1 

Cadouin  cloister,  sculptures  of 
Aristotle's  and  Vergil's  love  ad- 
ventures in  the,  228,  229 

Caen,  unicorn  in  St.  Redegonde's, 
104  ;  •  Lay  of  Aristotle '  in  St. 
Pierre's,  228 

C(Fsar,  Julius,  on  elks,  112 

Cahier,  '  Melanges  d'Archeologie  ' 
cited,  20,  65,  72,  151 

Calanson,  Gtdrant  de.  See  Guir- 
ant  de  Calanson 

Calcar,    sculptures  at,    240,    244, 

Calvin,    satirized    in    St.    Semin, 

194 
Candace,  Queen,  no,  137 
Canterbury  Cathedral,  gospel -mill, 

160  ;  fox  as  friar,  212 
Cantimpre,  Thomas  de,  cited,  74 
Caper  bush,  symbol  of  Judaism,  167 
Capua,   baptisterj',    eagle   fishing, 

118 
Carbuncle,  virtues  of,  "^6 
Caricatures  of   sacred   rites,    186, 

279;  of  Jews,  289 — 299 
Cai-nival,    survival  of  Saturnalia, 

264 
Carthusians  satirized,  189 
Ca)~vings,   fanciful  and  grotesque, 

216 — 224 
Cassian,  on  the  source  of  spiritual 

discernment,  16,  17 
Cassiodorus,  cited,  66 
Cat:  "wild-cats"  in  churches,  183; 


356 


Index 


execution  of  the,   207,  234  ;  at 

worship,    211;    in-  the    priest's 

house,  214 
Catacovibs  of  Callistus,  Ulysses  and 

sirens,  315 
Catharine-wheel    windows,    revolt 

of  the  angels  on,  258 
Cato,  on  Roman  effeminacy,  24 
Cavalcanti,  Gziido,   erotic  imagery 

derived   from   the   fable  of  the 

unicorn,  108 
Cecco  (TAscoH,  his  '  Acerba '  cited, 

74 

Cecilms,  Felix,  on  the  cult  of  the 

ass,  270 
Centaur,  symbol  of  unruly  passions, 

317 — 321;  St.  Anthony  and  the, 

317 

Cei-berus,  in  Santa  Maria  Novella 

at  Florence,  310 
Chalcedony,  virtues  of,  36,  38 
Chalons,  Council  of,  263  ;  navel  of 

Jesus   in  Notre-Dame-en-Vaux, 

288 
Champagne,  poet  of,  on  Reynard's 

execution,  213 
Champfleury,  definition  of  ' '  ecor- 

cher  le  renard,"  208 
Charadritcs,  sculpture  at  Alne,  50, 

146  ;  at  Lyons,  146 ;  symbolism 

of,  145 — 147  ;  psalter  of  Isabella 

of  France,  146 
Charlemagne,  the  type  of  valour, 

43  ;  his  capitulary  against  actors, 

263 
Charles     VIII.,    eagle's    claw    as 

symbol  of,  201 
Charon,  as  ferryman,  310 
Chartres,  relief  of  hare  and  warrior 

in  the  cathedral  of,  9 
Chester,  sculpture  destroyed  in  the 

cathedral  of,  224 
Childeric  III. ,  golden  bees  in  the 

tomb  of,  4 
ChitragHpta,  secretary  of  Yama,33l 
Chiiisi,  column-sustaining  lions  at, 

91 


Christ,  monogram  of,  12 
Christianity,  aggressiveness  of,  li 
Chi-istffias,  solar  feast,  69,  264 
Chrysolite,  virtues  of,  37,  38,  39 
Chrysoprase,  virtues  of,  37 ;  worn 

in  December,  37 
Chrysostom,  cited,  3,  185  ;  '  Dicta ' 

of,  65,  70 
"  Chul,"  signifying  phoenLx,  sand, 

and  palm,  66 
Chttrch  edifice,  symbol  of  human 

soul,  76 ;  mystic  meaning  of  its 

structure,  254 — 256 
Cicero,  urged  to  provide  panthers 

for  political  purposes,  23 
Cimabue,     the     doctrine    of    the 

Trinity  in  his  painting  of  the 

Crucifixion,  252 
Circe,  purifies  the  Argonauts  with 

swine's  blood,  299 
Cistercians,  as  foxes,  223 ;  satirized, 

224 
Civaux,   sirens  in  the  church  at, 

316 
Classical  myths,  a  source  of  Chris- 
tian symbolism,  300 — 303,  305 — 

321 
Claves,  keys   to   Holy  Writ,    18; 

Melito's  '  Clavis,'  53,  259 
Clemens  Alexandrinus,   cited,  16, 

Clement     VII.,     Pope,     his     pyx 

adorned  with  a  phoenix,  130 
Clement,  Felix,  music  of  the  ass's 

chant,  275  ;  interpretation  of  the 

ass's  litany,  278 
Cleves,  sculptures  in,  240,  243,  244 
Cloisters,  wealth  of  English,  23 1 
Chiny,  Musee  (Hotel)  de.  Virtues 

personified,    153,   162 ;    musical 

pigs,  232 
Coblence,   relic  in   cloister   of   St. 

Barbara,  288 
Cochlceus,  on  the ' '  Miinchkalb,"  204 
Cock,  symbolism  of  the,  161 — 163  ; 

basilisk  hatched  from  the  egg  of 

a,  163  ;  witches'  ointment  made 


Index 


357 


from  the  egg  of  a,  170  ;  pecking 
at  the  fox,  206 

Cockatrice,  origin  and  symbolism 
of  the,  163—170 

Cockton,  rebus,  222 

Ca-lius,  letter  to  Cicero  for  pan- 
thers, 23 

C^/fTfwt-,  griffin's  claw,  106 ;  phcenix, 
130 

Colonne.     See  Gnido  delle  Colonnc 

Como,  sculpture  of  papal  ass,  201 

Cotistantine,    sun-worshipper,    69, 

305 
Copts,  their  hieroglyphic  signs  and 

symbols,  12 
Corneliniiinster,  relics  in  the,  106 
Co7-beil,  woman  and  devil,  333 
Councils,   decrees    against   actors, 

263  ;  against  "Feast  of  Fools," 

266 
Cratiach,  Lucas,  painting  ascribed 

to,  102  note ;  his  drawing  of  the 

papal    ass,    195;     "ein    grober 

Maler,"  203 
Crane,  symbolism  of  the,  209,  223, 

224 
Credulity  in  the  early  Church  com- 
pared with  that  of  to-day,  175 — 

177 
Crocodile,  symbolism  of  the,  131 — 

133 

Cross,  the,  in  Coptic  monuments, 
12 ;  symbolized  by  the  letter 
Tau,  67,  248,  250 ;  triumphal 
chariot  of,  161  ;  its  presence  in 
Nature  and  prefiguration  in  the 
Hebrew  Scriptures,  247 — 252  ; 
symbolisms  of,  its  delineation  as 
crucifix  in  art,  252;  relics  of,  287 

Crffw,  type  of  Christian  virtues,  55, 

147 
Cunault-sur-Loire,    sirens   in    the 

church  at,  316,  317 
Cynewulf,  Anglo-Saxon  paraphrase 

of  '  De  Phcenice,'  69 
Cyprian,  he-goat  typical  of  Christ, 

46 


Dahlerup,  Verner,  his  edition  of 
Icelandic  'Physiologus,'  71 

Damiani,  Petrus,  on  the  monastic 
state  as  exemplified  by  animals, 
60 

Danae,  legend  of,  302 

'  Dance  of  Death,'  336 — 342 

Dante,  on  the  heliotrope,  35  ;  on 
the  pearl,  48  ;  on  the  unicorn, 
108  ;  on  the  eagle,  119  ;  on  the 
phoenix  and  pelican,  131  ;  beasts 
in  the  path  of,  138  ;  comment- 
ators on,  254  ;  on  the  statue  of 
Mars,  306  ;  Giotto  as  illustrator 
of,  310;  on  centaurs  as  symbols 
of  violence,  319 

Dantzig,  Hans  Memling's  '  Last 
Judgment '  in  Dorothy  Chapel  of 
St.  Mary's  Church,  311 

David,  on  the  hart,  171  ;  his  cross- 
shaped  staff,  249 ;  his  combat 
with  Goliath  in  San  Michele  of 
Pavia,  309  ;  slaying  a  lion,  relief 
at  Sienna,  320 

Death,  Greek  conception  of,  341  ; 
as  a  skeleton  in  art,  341.  See 
Dance  of 

'■Decameron,'  specimens  of  sacred 
relics,  289 

Deities,  Christianization  of  pagan,  6 

Demeter,  myth  of,  303 

'  De  Tristibus  Gallic^,'  204 

Devil,  as  a  lion,  88,  92,  129  ;  as  a 
unicorn,  109  ;  as  a  whale,  122, 
123 ;  as  an  otter,  133 ;  as.  a 
dragon,  134,  172  ;  as  a  partridge, 
143,  144 ;  as  a  basilisk,  164  ;  as 
a  fox,  206,  209,  210  ;  hoof  of 
the  German,  244  ;  in  the  myth 
of  Argus,  314;  as  a  centaur, 
317  ;  as  Fafnir,  327  ;  cheating 
in  weighing  souls,  328,  329 ; 
recording  female  gossip  during 
mass,  330 ;  woman  his  agent 
and  ally,  331  ;  not  a  prominent 
figure  in  Christian  architecture 
except  in  the  tenth  and  eleventh 


358 


Index 


centuries,  333 ;  liberties  taken 
by  Luther  with  the,  334 ;  in  the 
cathedral  of  Autun,  335 

'  Dialogue  of  Creatures,^  60 

Diamond,  virtues  of  the,  37,  45  ; 
a  protection  against  demons,  46 

Diemer,  his  '  Deutsche  Gedichte,' 
38 

Dioscondes,  cited,  43 

Dog,  symbolism  and  diabolism  of 
the,  89  ;  in  the  Bible,  in  Homer, 
and  in  the  Mahabharata,  89 — 91 

Dollinger,  on  Jesuits  as  educators, 
269 

Dolphin,  sculptured  on  tombs,  121 

Domingo  de  Guzman,  rosary  intro- 
duced by,  243 

Dominicans,  derided,  243 

Dove,  emblematic  significance  of, 
76,  77,  261 

Dracontius,  ^militts,  allusion  to 
the  hart  in  his  poem,  1 73 

Dragon,  as  demon,  5  ;  Solomon's, 
41  ;  at  Alne,  51  ;  foe  of  the 
elephant,  1 1 1  ;  symbol  of  Satan, 
I32j     133 ;   flees    the    panther, 

135 

Dresden,  grifBn's  claws  in  Museum 

at,  106 
Dreux,  Philippe  de,  his  '  Livre  des 

Creatures,'  71 
Dublin,  illuminations  of  Celtic  MS. 

in  Trinity  College,  118 
Du  Meril,  cited,  on  Jews  as  owls, 

77 
Durand,  on  animal  types,  85  ;  on 
symbolism    of   church    edifices, 
254,  259 

Eagle,  of  Jupiter  and  John,  6  ;  on 
doorway  at  Alne,  51,  118; 
renews  its  youth,  66,  116 — 119; 
gazing  at  the  sun,  84,  1 18 — I2I  ; 
breaking  its  beak,  119  ;  in 
"Tetramorph,"  154;  in  papal 
ass,  201 

East,  signification  of,  257,  278 


Easter,  solar  feast,  69 

Ebers,  Georg,  on  Coptic  symbolism, 

12 
Ebert,  Adolf,  cited,  68  note 
"  Ecorcher  lerenard,"  208  ;  in  St. 

Fiacre's,  209 
Egg-threshing,  in  church  at  Kem- 

pen,  239—241 
Elder  Lady  Chapel,  sculptures  in, 

219 
Elephant,  symbolism  of,  32,  33,  1 10 

— 113;  embroidered  on  chasubles 

to  typify  priestly  chastity,  113; 

carving  of,  222 
Elephantiasis,  20 1 
Elisha,  on  dogs,  90 
Elks,  Caesar's  description  of,  112 
Eltenberg,  Annunciation  in  parish 

church  of,  99 
Ely   Cathedral,   fox  as    preacher, 

186,  223 
Emden,   sculptures   published    by 

Marten  at,  235 
Emerald,  virtues  of,  37 — 39 
Emtnerich,  carvings  of  animals  at, 

240,  244,  245 
Emser,    his   interpretation   of    the 

"  monk-calf,"  204 
Ephesus,  Council  of,  65 
Epiphanius,  on  gems,  40 ;    cited, 

56,  59,  185  ;  on  the  cult  of  the 

ass,  271 
Epiphany,   origin  of,  69  ;  celebra- 
tion of,  264,  267 
Eros,  likened  to  a  bee,  i 
Eschatology,  Egyptian,  329 
Espagnol.     See  Pierre  Espagnol 
Essinus,  symbolism  of  the,  124 — 

126 
Eucherius,  Bishop  of  Lyons,  on  the 

spiritual  significance  of  the  points 

of  the  compass,  259 
Euergetes  II. ,  sumamed  Physkon, 

25  ;    his   book   of  marvels   and 

zeal  as  a  collector,  26 
'  Eumenides  '  of  ^schylus,  cited, 

298,  299 


Index 


359 


Eustatkius,  his  exegesis  of  creation, 

55   . 
Eutokios,  symbolism  of  the,  13,  48 
Evretix,  fox  as  friar  in  St,  Jaurin's, 

225 
Exegesis.     See  Hermeneutics 

Fables^  hagiological  and  other,  185, 
222 

Fafnir,  in  Freising,  323  ;  in  Hylle- 
stad,  327 

Fall  of  man,  its  effect  on  the 
natural  world,  29 

Fathers,  credulity  of,  175 — 177 

Feasts,  origin  of  Christian,  69 ; 
scandalous  celebration  of,  265 — 
267 

Ferrara,  lion  in,  92 

Fischart,  his  explanation  of  the 
Strasburg  sculptures,  188 

Fish,  symbolism  of,  55,  121 — 126; 
significance  of  baked,  122 

Fl'dgel,  cited,  192 

Florence,  Baptistery,  92,  306  ;  St. 
Maria  Novella,  310;  Uffizi,  130 

Foolscap,  origin  of  the  name,  195 

Fools,  feast  of,  265,  266 

'  Four  P.P.,"  cited,  281—284 

Fox,  on  doorway  in  Alne,  5 1  ;  burial 
of,  188,  189,  235 ;  on  cushion 
at  Pforzheim,  192;  wiles  of,  205 
— 216  ;  ensnaring  fowls,  208 ; 
"pricking"  the,  209;  type  of 
devil,  210  ;  Herod  as,  206,  211  ; 
preaching,  208,  210,  211,  212, 
215,  221  ;  execution  of,  213,  215, 
221  ;  delineation  of  its  exploits 
in    European    churches,    211 — 

245  . 
Fra  Cipolla,  his  collection  of  relics, 

289 
Frankfort,  satire  on  Jews,  295 
Franenlob,  on  hunting  the  unicorn, 

107 ;    on  the   panther's   breath, 

136 
Frederic  III. ,  Duke,  his  collection 

of  relics,  289 


Freiburg  Minster,  lion  and  pelican, 

83;     Samson,     91,     191,     192; 

wolfs  novitiate,  189— 191,  235  ; 

revolt  of  angels,  258 ;  centaurs, 

319  ;  weighing  souls,  330 
Freidank,  quoted  on  the  peacock, 

312 
Freising,  distich  on  the  Jews,  298  ; 

Siegfried  saga,  321—325 
Freyr,  sun-god,  298 
Fria,  German  Venus,  122 
Friar  z.n^  Tinker,  244 
Fribourg,   weighing   souls,  on  the 

cathedral  doors  in,  330 
Friday,  use  offish  on,  121 
Friedrich,   Prof.,  on  the  Gelasian 

decree,  65 
Friedrich  II.,  his   "ostrich  eyes," 

94  ;  permits  Jews  to  take  usury, 

Frog,  symbolism  of  the,  200  note, 

238 
Fulica,    type  of  doctrinal   purity, 

148 

Gabriel,  archangel,  hunter  of  the 

unicorn,  96,  98,  lOO 
Gaeta,    Bacchus    on    a    baptismal 

ewer  at,  308 
Galatea,  triumph  of,  303 
Galen,  cited,  43 
Gautier    de     Coinsi,    his     protest 

against   "wild-cats   and   lions," 

183,  217 
Gayet,  on  Coptic  monuments,  12 
Geese,  carvings  of,  193,  215,  221 
Geiler  von    Kaisersberg,  Johannes, 

sermons  censuring  beguines,  187 
Gelasins  /.,  Pope,  his  apocryphal 

decree  condemning  the  '  Physi- 

ologus,'  64,  152 
Ge/iis,  as  amulets,  34,  35  ;  virtues 

of,    36,   relation    to   months    of 

the  year,  37 ;  religious  symbolism 

of,  38—40 
Gentiles,  symbolized  by  locusts,  166 

—  16S 


36o 


Index 


Gessner,  his  account  of  the  bishop- 
fish,  199 

GJiiberti,  his  sibyls  on  Baptistery  in 
Florence,  309 

Giotto,  sibyls  on  his  tower,  309  ; 
illustrates  Dante's  ideas,  310 ; 
his  centaur  in  Assisi,  320 

Giovanni  dalV  Orto,  imagery  de- 
rived from  the  phoenix  and 
pelican,  131 

Girgenti,  myth  of  Hippolytus  on 
font  in,  307 

GJuktmgasaga,  in  the  church  at 
Austad,  324 

Gladstone,  his  theory  of  mythology, 
301 

Gloucester  Cathedral,  satirical  carv- 
ings in,  224 

Gmimd,  centaurs  on  St.  John's 
church  in,  318 

Gnostics,  their  speculations  con- 
cerning the  Word,  98,  99 ;  Lord 
of  Sabaoth  with  ass's  head,  271 

'  Golden  Legend,'  parable  of  human 
life  from  the,  5 

Goliath.     See  David 

Gos,  elephant  on  chasuble  at,  113 

C^j/^/'/w///,  at  Gottingen,  157,  158; 
at  Vezelai,  159 ;  at  Bourges, 
Canterbury,  and  elsewhere,  160, 
161 

Gottfried  von  Strasburg,  on  the 
Virgin  as  a  turtle-dove,  147 

Gottingen,  picture  of  the  fabrication 
of  theology  in,  157 

Gottweih  Cloister,  66 

'  Graf  Rudolf  ,'  cited,  125 

Gran,  griffin's  claw  in  the  church 
of,  106 

Grandidier,  his  description  of  monk 
and  beguine  in  Strasburg,  187 

Grane,  in  Siegfried  saga,  323 

Grasshopper,  symbolism  of,  166 

Gray  Friars,  satirized,  220 

Great  Malvern  Abbey,  rats  hanging 
cat,  234 

Gregoty  I.  (the  Great),  his  love  of 


symbolism,  66 ;  use  of  the 
'  Physiologus,'  152 ;  on  Job,  166 ; 
on  the  basilisk,  167,  168 ;  on 
Ezekiel,  256;  his  letter  of  in- 
struction to  Anglo-Saxon  mis- 
sionaries, 306 

Gregory  of  Nazianz,  Greek  '  Physi- 
ologus,' ascribed  to,  64 

Gregory  of  Nyssa,  his  animal  typ- 
ology, 18  ;  on  the  dolphin,  121 

Grijffins,  as  demons,  39  ;  so-called 
claws  of,  106  ;  symbols  of  carnal 
passions,  192 

Grimm,  Jacob,  on  superstitious 
dread  of  animals,  8 

Grimnienthal,  unicorn  in,  loi,  102  ; 
Luther's  denunciation  of,  104 

Grosnet.     See  Pierre  de  Grosnet 

Guido  delle  Colonne,  ladies  likened 
to  panthers,  136 

Guillaume.  See  William  of  Nor- 
mandy 

Gtiirant  de  Calanson,  on  the  open 
eyes  of  the  lion,  94 

Gidlinbursti,  golden  boar,  298 

Gunnar  in    Siegfried  saga,  323 — 

325.  327       .  . 

Guy  de  Munois,  ape  in  cowl  as  his 

abbot's  seal,  281 
Gyrfalcon,  in  Coptic  relief  of  Isis 

and  Horns,  13 

H,  signification  of,  67 

Hadrian,  phoenix  on  his  coin,  129  ; 

had  swine  sculptured  over  gates 

of  Jerusalem,  294 
Halberstadt,  centaurs  in  Liebfrauen- 

kirche,  319 
Halle,   relics   of  Noah's   ark   and 

Virgin's  chemise,  288 
Hallingdal,  Siegfried  saga,  324 
Havilet,  cited,  233,  340 
Hard-shell  Baptist,  sermon  of,  45 
Hare,  superstitious  fear  of  the,  9  ; 

in  the  Strasburg  Minster,  18S  ; 

in  the  '  Lay  of  Aristotle, '  228  ; 

symbol  of  the  Trinity,  239 


Index 


361 


Harryson,  John.     See  Bale,  John 
Hart,   symbolism  of,  55   note;   in 

Pisa   Cathedral,   85,    171— 173; 

carving  in  Ely  Cathedral,  223 
'  Heavenly  Jerusalem,''  poem  cited, 

38.     See  Jerusalem 
Zrf(^ri?w,  cosmogony  allegorized,  17; 

mythology  meagre,  260 
Hcerbrand,  Jacob,  polemical  treatise 

of,  193 
He-goat,    type  of  Christ,    46 ;    as 

bier-bearer,  189 
Heider,  his  edition  of  bestiary,  66 
Heidingsfeld,  swine   in  synagogue 

at,  294 
Heilbrunn,  carvings  satirizing  Jews, 

297 
Heiligenstadt,  Jews  sucking  swme, 

297 
Heliotrope,     virtues    of    the,     35  ; 

associated  with  March,  37 
Hemsedal,  Siegfried  saga,  324 
Henri  d  Andely,  his   '  Lai  d'Aris- 

tote '  cited,  226,  228 
Henry  I.  of  England,  71 
Henry  VIII.  of  England,  satire  on 

the  Roman  See,  195 
Ho-cules,    taken   for    Samson,    6 ; 

Christian    interpretation   of   his 

labours,    302  ;    at    Trier,    307 ; 

slaying  a  centaur,  320 
Hermeneiitics,  importance  attached 

to,  27  ;   essential  to  keep  Holy 

Writ  abreast  with  the  progress  of 

thought,  29 ;  perverse  ingenuity 

of  patristic,  40—42,  45,  54,  55, 

91,    119,    145,     159,    171— 177, 

Hermes,   the  prototype  of  Chnst, 

300 
Hermes  Trismegistns,  authority  of, 

169,  170 
Herod,  as  fox,  206,  21 1 
Herodotus,  197 

Heron,  type  of  Christian  purity,  148 
Herrade  de  Landsberg,  her  '  Hortus 

Deliciarum,'  74 


Herse.  S&ejoh/t  of  Herse 
^  Herzog  Ernst ,'  poem,  125 
Hesperides,    Garden    of    Eden    in 

Christian  art,  309 
'  Hexahemera,''  cited,  54,  55 
Heywood,  John,  his  'Four  P.P.,' 

281—283 
Hierony7nus,     his     symbolism     of 

Solomon,  42 
Hilarius,  exegesis  of  locusts,  167 
Hildcbert  of  Lav  ar  din,  works  of,  61 
Hildefoftse,  his  symbolism  of  beasts, 

60 

Hildesheim,  lion's  head,  92 ;  griffin's 

claw,  106 
Hipfolytus,  sculptured  on  a  Chris- 
tian font,  307 
Hitterdal,  Siegfried  saga,  325 
Hog,  type  of  Buddhist  ascetic,  31, 
32  ;  as  satire  on  Calvin,  194  ;  in 
sacred    architecture,     186,    189, 
194,  19s,  218 
Hogne,  saga  of  Atle  and,  324 
Holbein,  his  '  Imago  Mortis,'  338 
"  Holy  Coat,"  worshipped  at  Trier, 

287 
Holy  Rood,  legends  of,  252 
Hommel,  his  edition  of  Ethiopic 

'  Physiologus,'  63,  71 
Honey,   antiseptic   and  cultic  uses 
of,    3 ;  in  Mithras  worship,   4  ; 
symbol  of  worldly  seductions,  5 
Honori'  de    Sainte-  Marie,   sermon 

cited,  340,  341 
Hoopoe,  type  of  filial  affection,  148 
Horapollo,  meaning  of,  14 ;  cited, 

128,  129 
'■Hortus  Deliciarum,^  cited,  74; 
destroyed,  75 ;  miniature  of 
monster  in,  155,  156 
Horus,  type  of  infant  Jesus,  13  ; 
personification  of  light  and  life, 
14;  anniversary  of,  15;  reliefs 
in  the  Louvre  and  British 
Museum,  13 ;  in  Aix-la-Chapelle, 

303 
Hrabanus,  Maurus,  his  four  senses 


362 


Index 


of  Scripture,   17;   on  the  cross 

in  nature,  247 
Jiradshin,  abnormal  skeleton  of  a 

saint  there,  284 
Hugo  de  Saint-Victor,  treatise  on 

beasts  falsely  ascribed  to,  75 
Hugo  von  Langenstein,  on  the  uni- 
corn,  108  ;   his  allegory  of  the 

panther,  135 
Humour,  coarseness  of  mediaeval 

and  Reformatory,  19 
Hyacinth,  associated  with  January, 

37 

Hyena,  in  Alne,  50,  142 ;  nature 
and  symbolism  of,  140 ;  super- 
stitions concerning,  14I  ;  in 
architecture,  141,  142 

Hyllestad,  Siegfried  saga,  322 

Hymn  sung  to  the  ass,  272 — 275  ; 
its  spiritual  sense,  278 

Hyrtl,  Joseph,  saints'  skeletons  rec- 
tified by,  285 

/,  signification  of,  67 

Jbbenstadt,  centaurs  in  the  cloister- 
church  of,  319 

Jbex,  symbol  of  aspiration,  153 

Ichneumon,  Egyptian  ideograph, 
132 ;  killer  of  monsters,  132, 
321 

Iconoclasm  in  Netherland  churches, 

245 
Jlle,  his  'Dance  of  Death,'  342 
Jnderawood.     See  Beverly 
Indian  stone,  type  of  Christ,  48 
Inghilfredi,  canzoni  cited,  131 
Innocent  III. ,  confirms  mendicant 

orders,    210;   censures   rules   of 

St.  Francis,  224 
lo,  myth  of  Argus  and,  313 
Isabella  of  France,  her  psalter,  20, 

146,    153  ;  illustrations  from  it, 

124,    133,    148,    162,   174,   311, 

314 
Isidore,    cited,    3,     43,     48 ;     his 
'  Etymologies,'  59,  109 ;  his  sym- 
bolism of  animals,  185 


Isis,  type  of  the  Virgin,  13  ;  in 
Aix-la-Chapelle,  303  ;  her  statue 
worshipped  by  Christians,  307 

Isle  of  Man,  Sigurd  saga  in  the, 

325 
Isocrates,  sirens  on  his  sepulchre, 

315 
Istar,  origin  of  the  Virgin  of  the 

Seven  Swords,  6 

Jacinth,  39 

Jacopo    da    Lentino,    erotic    poet, 

cited,  165 
Jacopo  della  Quercia,  his  reliefs  at 

Sienna,  320 
Jacopone  da  Todi,  his  symbolism  of 

the  serpent,  115 
Jarlsbcrg,  Siegfried  saga,  324 
Jasper,  virtues  of,  37,  38 
Jeremiah,  on  the  hyena,  139 
y^row^,  "chul"  as  palm-tree,  66 ;  on 

the  two  women  at  the  mill,  159  ; 

his  symbolisms,    185,    247 ;   on 

the  brazen  serpent,  250  ;  on  St. 

Anthony  and  the  centaur,  3 1 7 
Jerusalem,  stories  of  the  Heavenly, 

38  ;  swine  over  the  gates  of,  294 
Jesuit,  definition  of  theology,  269 
Jesus,  His  remark  concerning  a  dead 

dog,  90 
Jervels,  as  talismans,  34  ;  blessing, 

43 ;  formed  from  hyena's  eyes, 

141 
Jeius,  coarse  caricatures  of,  289 — 

299  ;   self-sacrifice  of  two,  299, 

300 
Job,  contempt  of  dogs,  90 
John  of  Herse,  his  observation  of 

the  unicorn,  105 
John  the  Baptist,  his  six  heads,  286 
John  the  Evangelist,  preaching,  210 
John   II.    (the   Good),   his  decree 

concerning  the  Jews,  293 
Joseph,  relic  of  his  breath,  288 
Jove,  name  applied  to  God  and  to 

Christ,  309,  310 
Jug,  symbolism  of  the,  33 


Index 


363 


/tmo,  her  symbol  the  peacock,  310 
/upiter^  prototype  of  Jesus  in  art, 

310 
Justin  Martyr,  his  '  Hexahemeron,' 

55  ;  on  the  cross  in  nature,  247  ; 

on  the  pascha  as  foreshadowing 

the  Crucifixion,  251 
Juvenal,  on  the  beaver,  139  ;  on 

frogs'  entrails  as  charms,  238 

Kaulbach,  his  illustrations  of  the 

beast-epos,  214,  215 
Kelheim,  inscription  recording  the 

banishment  of  Jews  from  Ratis- 

bon,  297 
Kempen,  sculptures  in  parish  church, 

239 — 244  ;  excellent  works  of  the 

Flemish  school,  244 
Kephisodotos,  statues  by,  306 
Kerner,  Jtistinus^  on  occult  virtues 

in  stones,  44 
Kirk  Andreas,  Sigurd  saga,  325 
Klingenthal,    '  Dance    of    Death, ' 

336,  337 
Klosterneiiberg,  lion,  84 ;   Samson, 

192 
Konrad  von  Wiirzbin-g,  on  hunting 

the  unicorn,  107  ;  on  the  panther, 

136  ;  on  the  beaver,  139  ;  on  the 

siren,  316 
Kdrner,  Theodor,  poem  on  precious 

stones,  38 
Krishna,  his  symbol  a  blue  bee,  4 
Ktesias,   his   fabulous  stories,    22, 

197 

Laetantius,  'De  Phoenice'  ascribed 

to,  68 
'  Lai  d'Aristote,'  226 — 228 
Lampreeht,  P/affen,  his   '  Alexan- 
derlied,'  description  of  the  uni- 
corn,   no;   cited,    125;    Queen 
Candace's  automatic  panther,  137 
Lamp7-ey,  symbolism  of  the,  55 
Land,  Syriac  '  Physiologus,' 64 
Lange,  Konrad,  Papstesel,  i()6  note, 
200 


Langenstein.  See  Hugo  von  Lan- 
genstein 

Langland,  William,  his  satire  on 
the  mendicant  orders  in  '  Piers 
Plowman,'  230 — 232 

Lapis  lazuli,  virtue  of,  37 

Lardal,  Siegfried  saga,  324 

Lateran,  Museum  of  the,  53;  mosaic 
of  phoenix  in  the  tribune  of  the, 
127 

Lauchert,  Fnedrick,  his  history  of 
the  '  Physiologus '  cited,  63,  79, 
108,  116,  136 

Lauremberg,  '  Schertzgedichte,' 
cited,    187 

Lausanne,  monsters  in  the  cathe- 
dral of,  200 

Lautensaek,  Paul,  his  altar-piece  at 
Grimmenthal,  representing  the 
chase  of  the  unicorn,  103;  picture 
burned,  104 

Leeeh  in  IBuddhistic  symbolism,  32 

Leicester,  fox  preaching  in  St. 
Martin's,  223 

Le  Mans.     See  Mans 

Lentino.     See  Jacopo  da  Lentino 

Le-Pny-en-  Velay,  personification  of 
the  sciences,  154;  weighing 
souls,  328 

Lessing,  '  Die  Biene '  cited,  2 

Leviathan,  as    a    rhinoceros,    85 ; 

«=size  of,  123 

Liebfrauettkirche,  in  Halberstadt, 
centaurs,  319 

Lily,  symbol  of  purity,  76 

Limoges,  foxes  as  mendicant  friars 
in  the  cathedral  of,  225 

Lincoln,  Abraham,  jokes  of,  43 

Lincoln  Cathedral,  fox  preaching, 
223 

Lion,  winged,  10  ;  three  character- 
istics of  the,  81  ;  symbolism  of, 
82 — 94  ;  represented  in  archi- 
tecture, 82 — 87,  91,  92,  130; 
on  helmets,  85  ;  type  of  opposite 
qualities,  87  ;  in  poetry,  93,  94  ; 
as  devil,  87,  88,  129 


3^4 


Index 


'  Lithiaka,'  on  precious  stones  in 

^^^'45  .  .  ,       . 

'  Livre  d'Hettres,'  miniature  of  snail 

and  its  meaning,  217,  218 
Lizard,    symbolism    of,    94,    95 ; 

fighting  with  scorpion,  154 
Loaists  signify  Gentiles,  166 — 168 
Lorenzo    d'Avalos,    likened    to    a 

lion's  whelp,  93 
Lorenzo    de    Segtcra,    Juan,     his 

'Poema    de    Alexandre,'    113; 

method  of  capturing  elephants, 

113;    serpent's    fear    of    nude 

persons,  116 
Loreto,  sibyls  on  the  Casa  Santa 

of,  309 
Lot,  symbolism  of,  67 
Lothair,  cross  of,  308 
Louise  of  Savoy,  162 
Louques,  devil  cheating  in  weighing 

souls  in  the  church  at,  328 
Louvre,    Mantegna's     satyrs    and 

centaurs  in  the,  320 
Lotivret,  Pierre,  his  account  of  the 

ass's  feast,  277 
Lucca,  lions  supporting  pulpit,  91 
L2icerue,   Meglinger's  triumphs  of 

death  in,  339 
Lztcretius,  witty,  but  not  scientific, 

25 

Ltidwig,  Duke  of  Bavaria,  com- 
pared to  various  animals,  136 

Liihig,  his  '  Dance  of  Death,'  342 

Ljtnd,  animals  in  the  cathedral  of, 
129 

Lupa  {Lupanar),  150  note 

L^iipercalia,  the  Christian  feast  of 
the  Purification,  264 

Luther,  Martin,  his  coarse  wit,  19  ; 
on  the  hart  and  serpent,  55  note ; 
on  the  aqueous  origin  of  swallows, 
149  ;  satirized,  194  ;  on  "  Papst- 
esel"  and  "  Miinchkalb,"  202 
— 204  ;  his  interpretation  of  the 
satire  on  the  Jews  in  Witten- 
berg, 290 ;  harmlessness  of  his 
devil,  334 


Liitzelburger,  Hans,  his  cuts  of 
Holbein's  '  Imago  Mortis,'  338 

Lycosthenes,  his  work  on  prodigies 
cited,  197,  198,  224 

Lydda,  ostensible  birthplace  of  St. 
George,  15 

Lyons  Cathedral,  lion  and  whelp, 
84;  unicorn,  96;  MS.  in  City 
Library  of,  204 ;  Saint-Jean 
(cathedral),  'Laid'Aristote,'  228 ; 
revolt  of  the  angels,  258 

Macabre,  origin  of  the  word,  336, 

337.     See  '■  Dance  of  Death' 
Macedonians,  heretical  sect,  238 
Madrid,     National      Library     of, 

'Libro  de  los  Gatos,'  72 
Maerlant,  Jcuob  van,  74 
Alagdeburg,  phoenix,  129  ;  satire  on 

Jews,  297 
Magi,  their  wisdom  explained  by 

Luther,  55  7iote  ;  ass  laden  with 

their  gifts,  278 
Maison  des  Templiers,  fox  preaching 

to  a  congregation  of  animals,  211 
Malepartus,  snail  storming,  217 
Malipiero,  account  of  papal  ass,  195 
Malvern  Abbey,  rats  hanging  cat, 

234 

Manchester,  grotesque  carvings  in 
the  Collegiate  Church  of,  233 

Mandrakes  as  aphrodisiacs,  1 10 

Mans  {Le),  lion  and  phcenix,  83  ; 
fox  as  friar,  225 

Mantegna,  Andrea,  centaurs  and 
satyrs,  320 

iJ/aKz<,  'Institutes' of,  thieving  part- 
ridges, 144 

Marbodius,  on  precious  stones,  38, 

43 
Marie  de  France,  her  '  Wolfs  Novi- 

tiate'  cited,  190,  191 
Marienhafen,  sculptures  of  animals, 

23s,  236 
Mark,  his  type  a  roaring  lion,  85 
Marolles,  on  the  six  heads  of  John 

the  Baptist,  286 


Index 


3^5 


Jlfars,  statue  of,  306 
Marten,  his  drawings,  235 
Martial,  on  the  skill  of  the  Romans 

in  taming  and  training  animals,  24 
Matilbronn   Cloister,  lion  howling 

over  whelps,  83 
Maitpertuis,  moralization  on  skulls, 

335 

Max,  Gabriel,  the  rose  of  martyr- 
dom in  the  painting  by,  76  ;  his 
painting,   '  The  Last  Greeting,' 

Maxtfnus,    his    interpretation    of 

sirens,  315 
Mayence,  lions  in  the  cathedral  of, 

87,  92  ;  Council  of,  263 
Meerbischof.     See  Bishop-fish 
Megasthenes,  his  fabulous  stories,  22 
Megenberg,  Konrad  von,  his  '  Buch 

der  Natur,'  74 
Meglinger,  his  '  Dance  of  Death, ' 

339 
Meissner,  cited,  206,  208,  21 1  note, 

234 
Melatuhthon,   his  coarse  sarcasm, 

19  ;    on  the  papal  ass  and  the 

"monk-calf,"  202,  204 
Melito,  his  '  Clavis  '  cited,  53,  259 
Mena,  /uan  de,  simile  of  the  lion's 

whelp,  93 
Menander  as  a  Christian  saint,  306 
Mercury  in  Christian  art,  307,  309, 

313 

Merl,  symbolism  of  the,  148 
Messiah,  etymology  of,  252 
Metempsychosis,  influence  on  animal 

symbolism  and  heraldry,   7 ;  in 

Oriental  eschatology,  328 
Metz,    animals    in    the    Templars' 

church  at,  211 
Michael.     See  St.  Michael 
Milan,  first  Council  of,  1 84 ;  Aaron's 

rod  in,  287  ;  statue  of  Hercules 

at,  307 
Milton,  on  the  eagle,  121 
Minerva,  relief  of,  307 
Minorite  Cloister  at  Cleves,  244 


Minotaur,    10 ;    in   Christian   art, 

309>  310 
Mithras,  cult  of,    4 ;    altar  in  St. 

Clemente,  306 
Mnetiis,  bull  of  Osiris  symbolized 

by  the  sun,  14 
Modena,  lions  as  devils,  92 
Monoculi,  types  of  single-minded- 

ness,  39 
Monstrosities,  as  embodiments   of 

metempsychosis,  7  ;  as  portents, 

196 — 204  ;    satirical,   224,    245  ; 

saintly,  285 — 287 
Montalernbert,    on     the     sculpture 

satirizing  Calvin,   194 
Monza,  lions  as  types  of  spiritual 

vigilance,  87 
Morris,  Richard,  his  edition  of  the 

'  Physiologus, '  62 
"  Miinchkalb,"  description  of,  203  ; 

interpretations  of,  204 
Mioiich,  lion  relief,  82,  83  ;  Royal 

Library,  20,  153,  197 
Munois.     See  Guy  de  Miinois 
Miiotta,  hares  as  a  symbol  of  the 

Trinity,  239 
Museo    Pio-Clementino,    relief    of 

satyr,  301 
Music  personified,  154 
Mythology  as  source  of  Christian 

symbolism,  300 

Napoleon,  golden  bees  of,  4 
Nass,    F.    /.,    on    the    Strasburg 

sculptures,  188 
Neable,  /.   M.,  on  symbolisms  in 

churches,  256 
Nechebt-Ilithyia,   birth-easing  gyr- 

falcon,  13 
Neckatn,    Alexander,    on     natural 

things,  60 
Nesland,  Sigurd  saga,  324 
Nestorius,  condemned  as  heretic,  65 
Netherlands,  iconoclasm  in  the,  245 
Nibelitngen  Hort,  323 
Nice,  Council  of,  on  sacred  images, 

182 


366 


Index 


Nuodemus,  his  glove  as  a  relic,  288 
Nilus,  St.,  his  letter  to  Olympi- 

odorus,  182 
Noailles,    Bishop,    relic   of   Jesus' 

navel  removed  by,  288 

North,  assigned  to  Satan,  258,  259 

Norway,  Sigurd  saga  in,  322 

NotrC'Dame  of  Paris,  sleeping  lion, 

86 ;    weighing    souls,    330 ;    of 

Rouen,    foxes    as    friars,    225 ; 

Henri    d'Andely,    canon,    226 ; 

-en-Vaux    in   Chalons,  relic    of 

Jesus'  navel,    288 ;   de  Recouv- 

rance  in    Brest,    female   gossip 

during  mass  noted  by  the  devil, 

332  .         . 

Novgorod,  lion's  jaws  symbolizing 

hell,  92  ;  centaurs  in  St.  Sophia 

of,  318 
Numbers,  significance  of,  40,  41  ; 

symbolism  of,  67 
NiiJnedal,  Sigurd  saga,  324 
Nuremberg,  symbolical  animals,  82, 

130;  tetramorph,  155  ;  image  of 

ass,  271  ;  Jews  in,  293 
Nycticorax,  symbol  of  the  recluse, 

66  ;  of  Jews,  77 

Odiutii  theologicum,  parody  of,  154 

Odo,  Abbot  of  Cluny,  167  ;  of 
Sherington,  his  censures  of  the 
Cistercians,  224  ;  his  fables,  225 

Odon,  Archbishop,  on  the  dissolute 
sports  of  nuns,  266 

Ogive,  not  permissible  to  heretics, 
256 

Olympiodorus,  scruples  about  ani- 
mals in  churches,  182 

Onk,  its  significance  and  survival 
in  the  cross,  12 

Onyx,  associated  with  August,  37 

Opal,  associated  with  October,  37 

Opdal,  Sigurd  saga,  324 

Oppenheim,  auricular  conception  of 
Christ,  99 

Oppianus,  his  poem  on  fishing 
cited,  125 


Orcagno,  Andrea  and  Bernardo, 
their  frescoes,  310,  320 

Orendel,  poem  on  Holy  Coat,  287 

Orientation,  its  significance  in 
sacred  architecture,  257 

Origen,  his  threefold  sense  of 
Scripture,  16  ;  spiritualization  of 
Hebrew  cosmogony,  17  ;  adam- 
antine exegesis  and  ascetic  zeal, 
57,  58  ;  symbolical  exposition, 
58  ;  on  the  lion  and  other  crea- 
tures, 85,  185  ;  on  forms  of  the 
cross  in  nature,  247 

Orlandi,  Guido,  sonnet  to,  108 

Orpheus,  prototype  of  Christ,  302 

Orto,  Giovanni.  See  Giovanni 
dair    Orto 

Osiris,  bulls  sacred  to,  14  ;  weigh- 
ing souls,  329 

Osteology,  freaks  of  sacred,  2S5 

Ostrich,  incubating  eyes  of,  94  ; 
mentioned,  314 

Otter,  symbolism,  131  ;  confused 
with  water-snake,  132 

Ousel,  symbolism  of,  148 

Ovid,  his  '  Metamorphoses  '  cited, 

304 
Owl,  in  Buddhism,  32  ;  symbol  of 
Jews,  77 ;  rebus  of  Tyll  Eulen- 
spiegel,  243 ;  sign  of  desolation, 

314 

Ox,  like  a  deer  and  unicorn,  112  ; 

hoof  of,    195 ;    coat-of-arms    of 

Alexander  VI.,  201 
Oxford,      carving      in      Bodleian 

Library,  161 

Paderborn,   scenes   from  fables   in 

the  cathedral  of,  237 ;  sculpture 

of  three  hares,  239 
Padua,  sculpture  of  lion,  87 
Pallas  as  Eve,  6 

Palm  Sunday,  celebration  of,  265 
Pan,     relief    in     Aix-la-ChapeUe 

Minster,  303 
Panther,  on  doorway  at  Alne,  5 1, 

135  ;  sweet  breath  due  to  its  diet, 


Index 


Z(^7 


134;  nature  and  symbolism  of 
the,  133— 138;  Siegfried's  quiver 
covered  with  skin  of,  137 ; 
Queen  Candace's  automatic,  137 

Panthera,  legend  of,  137 

Papstesel,  discovery  and  description 
of,  195  ;  allegory  of  Rome,  200 ; 
sculptured  on  the  cathedral  of 
Como,  200,  201  ;  engravings  of, 
202  ;  interpretations  of,  204 

Papias,  his  exegesis,  55 

^Pardoner  and  Friar,'  assortment 
of  relics  in,  283 

Paris,  terrobuli,  50  ;  '  Evangeliari- 
um, '  1 52 ;  illuminated  manuscript, 
161  ;  Feast  of  Fools  forbidden  by 
the  Council  of,  266  ;  effigy  of  ass, 
271  ;  statue  of  Isis,  307  ;  sleep- 
ing lion,  86 ;  weighing  souls  in 
Notre-Dame  of,  330 

Parma,  relief  of  human  life,  5  ; 
lion,  87 

Partridge,  symbolism  of,  143 — 
145  ;  pilfering  propensity  of,  145; 
in  missals  and    sacred  edifices, 

145 

Paschal  lamb,  symbolical  of  the 
Crucifixion,  251 

Patiscus,  a  famous  hunter,  24 

Paul,  on  the  vice  symbolized  by 
the  hyena,  139;  on  lions,  142; 
toiling  at  the  gospel-mill,  160 ; 
his  natural  man  symbolized  by 
the  centaur,  192;  on  the  pascha, 
251  ;  the  Hermit,  317 

Pavia,  Theseus  slaying  the  Mino- 
taur, 309 

Peacock,  symbolism  of  the,  310 — 
312 

Pearl- fishing,  formation  and  sym- 
bolism of,  47,  48 

Pegasus  as  Christian  prototype, 
301,  309 

Pelican,  type  of  the  holy  recluse, 
66  ;  in  Freiburg  Minster,  83  ; 
in  Strasburg  Minster,  84  ;  type 
of  the  Atonement,  128  ;  in  archi- 


tecture, 129 — 131  ;  in  sacred  and 

secular    poetry,     130,    131  ;    oq 

shield  of  Love,  153 
Pentecost,  celebration  of,  265 
Pepys  "foxed,"  209 
Peter    of   Capua    calls    the    risen 

Christ  *'  aethereal  bee,"  3 
Peter  of  Picardy,  prose  version  of 

*  Physiologus, '  71 
Petrarch,  unicorn  in  engraving  of 

his    triumphs,    104,    105  ;    calls 

God  Jove,  309 
Petronius,  on  the  Roman  passion 

for  the  arena,  23 
Pforzheim,   Provost's  cushion  with 

wolf  as  monk,  193 
Philaster,  on  frog-worship,  238 
Philippe  Auguste,  edict  banishing 

actors,  263 
Philippe  de  Thaun,  his  '  Livre  des 

Creatures,'    71  ;   on  the   hyena, 

140 

Philo,  founder  of  the  Alexandrian 
school,  16 

Philotheos,  fresco  of  sleeping  lion 
in  the  convent  of,  86 

Phcenix,  larva  of,  1 5  ;  Lactantius' 
poem  on,  68  ;  on  coins,  69 ; 
Cynewulfs  Anglo-Saxon  para- 
phrase, 69 ;  described  and 
exegetically  applied,  126 ;  on 
cinerary  urns,  127  ;  in  architec- 
ture, 83,  84,  129 — 131  ;  in 
poetry,  130,  131  ;  on  the  shield 
of  Devotion,  153 

^Physiologus'  (the),  on  the  Indian 
stone,  13  ;  importance  of  it  as  a 
key  to  the  mystical  meaning  of 
natural  things,  18 ;  cited,  38, 
45  ;  on  the  tutelar  virtue  of  the 
diamond,  46  ;  far-fetched  simili- 
tudes of,  47  ;  viviparous  accipi- 
ters,  49 ;  author  of,  54 ;  plural 
form  of,  56  ;  Epiphanius'  exposi- 
tion of,  59 ;  works  modelled 
after,  60  ;  Theobald's  version  of, 
61,  62  ;  its  popularity,  62,  63  ; 


368 


Index 


translations  of,  62 — 74;  Ethio- 
pic,  Armenian,  and  Syriac,  63, 
64  ;  when  composed,  65  ;  first 
mention  of  Latin  version  in  the 
Index  Prohihitorum,  64,  152 ; 
MSS.  and  editions  of  the  Latin, 
65;  modern  translations  from  the 
Latin,  70;  two  German  versions, 
70 ;  Icelandic,  70,  71,  124 ; 
French  bestiaries  based  upon,  71; 
Greek  metrical,  Roumanian,  and 
Spanish  versions,  72  ;  Provencal, 
73 ;  quoted  and  amplified  by 
mediaeval  writers,  74 — 76  ,  clue 
to  these  treatises,  75,  153; 
Albertus  Magnus'  criticism  of, 
78  ;  key  to  allusions  and  similes 
in  sermons  and  songs,  79 ;  on 
the  characteristics  of  the  lion, 
81,  82;  poetic  imagery  derived 
from,  93,  94,  107,  108,  no, 
113,  116,  119— 121,  131,  134, 
136,  137,  146,  147;  the  uni- 
corn, 95,  109 ;  elephant,  1 10 
— 112;  serpent,  114 — Il6; 
eagle,  116 — 119;  fish,  121; 
sea-creatures,  122;  phoenix, 
126,  127  ;  otter,  133 ;  Walden- 
sian  version  of,  49,  73,  109,  133; 
beaver,  139 ;  hyena,  139,  141  ; 
raven,  149 ;  cock,  162 ;  psycho- 
logical value  of,  171  ;  a  prece- 
dent for  other  marvels,  185,  229, 
230  ;  fox,  205,  208,  209  ;  basi- 
lisk, 237  ;  swan,  238  ;  peacock, 
312;  casual  references  to,  138, 
151,  232,  234 

Ticardie,  ape  on  bishop's  seal  in, 
281 

Picards,  114 

Pictures,  books  of  the  ignorant,  75 

Pierre  de  Grosnet,  poem  on  gossips 
in  church  reported  by  the  devil, 

332 
Pierre  Espagnol,  on  ostrich  eyes, 

94 

'  Piers  Plowman.''     See  Lan^land 


Pineda,  on  the  samir,  42 

Pinon,  Bishop  of,  ape  in  episcopal 
robes  as  seal,  281 

Pisa,  sculptures  of  animals  in  the 
cathedral  of,  85,  91  ;  frescoes  in 
the  Campo  Santo  of,  310 

Pitra,  his  '  Spicilegium  Soles- 
mense,'  53,  63 

Pliny,  character  of  his  Natural 
History,  25  ;  borrowed  by  Mar- 
bodius,  43 ;  on  the  eagle-stone, 
49 ;  ichneumon,  132 

Plutarch,  on  the  ichneumon,  132; 
on  ass- worship,  270 

Pluto,  personification  of  hell,  310 

Pocci,  his  *  Dance  of  Death,'  342 

'  Poe7na  de  Alexandra. '  See  Lorenza 
de  Segura 

Poitiers  Cathedral,  hog  and  dog  as 
harpists,  232  ;  sirens,  317 

Points  of  the  compass  in  sacred 
architecture,  256 — 259 

Polo,  Messer,  his  lady-love  likened 
to  the  panther,  136 

Ponce  de  Leon,  his  version  of  Solo- 
mon's Song,  147 

Pope,  Cranach's  drawing  of  the 
rise  and  origin  of  the,  203  ;  elec- 
tion of  the,  223 

Poseidon  as  Adam,  6 

Posidippus  as  a  Christian  saint,  306 

Prague,  abnormal  skeletons  of 
saints,  284 — 286 

'Praise  of  Solomon,'  poem,  legend 
of  the  dragon,  41 

Precious  stones.  See  Gems  and 
Jewels 

Pregulhan.     See  Aimei'ic  de  P. 

Proserpina,    sirens    messengers   of. 

Proverbs,  illustrated  in  church 
architecture,  222,  239,  245 

Priidentius,  Aur elites  Clemens,  his 
allegorical  poems,  66,  67 

Psalter.     See  Isabella  of  France 

Pyratnus  and  Thisbe  in  Bale  Cathe- 
dral, 304,  305 


Index 


369 


Fyroboli.     See  Terrobuli 

Quedlinhirg,   Bacchus  in   Schloss- 

kirche  of,  308 
Quoxia.    See  [acopo  delta  Que7xia 

Rabins,  on  sea-monsters,  123  ;  their 

myths    and    fables,    261  ;     their 

personification      of      alphabetic 

characters,  262 
Rabelais,     his    humour,     19 ;     on 

"  flaying  the  fox,"  209 
Raleigh,  Sir  Walter,  '  The  Lover ' 

cited,  33  ;  on  hyenas,  140 
Ram,  symbol  of  leadership,  76 
Raiishon,     lion,     87 ;      sculptures : 

satire  on  Jews,  297;  sirens,  317 
Rats  executing  cat,  207 
Raven,  symbolism  of,  66,  76,   1 49, 

150 
Ravenna,  lions,  87 
Rebuses,  220,  222 
Redemption,  its  effect  upon  animals, 

30 
Reformation,  sceptical  tendency  of, 

334 

Regino,  Siegfried  saga,  321 — 323 

Reinaert  de  Vos,  Reincke  Vos, 
and  Reineke  Fuchs,  cited,  137, 
187,  214,  215 

Reinmar  von  Z'veter,  on  ' '  ostrich 
eyes,"  94  ;  on  the  unicorn,  108; 
on  the  phoenix,  131 

Relies,  \io\y,  281 — 289;  repaired 
by  Prof.  Hyrtl,  285 

Remagen,  sculpture  of  Samson,  192 

Retnora,  symbol  of  the  Saviour, 
122,  124;  feats  of  the,  125 

Renaissance,  effect  of,  334 

Renart  le  Notwel,  snail  as  standard- 
bearer,  quoted,  217 

Rethel,  Alfred,  his  '  Dance  of 
Death,'  342 

Rkeifns,  effigy  of  ass  in  the  cathe- 
dral of,  271 

Rhinegold,  323 


Rhinoceros,  symbol  of  recluseness, 
33  ;  Biblical  leviathan,  85 

Rihbesford,  eagle  taking  a  fish,  1 18 

Robigo  (Robigus),  origin  of  Roga- 
tion week,  264 

Rock-crystal,  virtue  of,  37 

Rodari,Jcuob  and  Thomas,  sculp- 
ture of  papal  ass,  200 

Rogation  week,  origin  of,  264 

'  Roman  de  Renat  i" '  ( '  Romance  of 
Reynard '),  cited,  216,  225,  230, 
235>  236,  312 

Rofnans,  spectacular  use  of  animals, 
23—25 

Rome,  lions  in  churches,  87,  92  ; 
relics  in,  286,  288 

Rosary,  ass  with  a,  242  ;  origin  of 
the,  243 

Rose,  symbol  of  martyrdom,  76 

Rouen,  celebration  of  Christmas  at, 
265  ;  foxes  as  begging  friars,  225  ; 
sirens  in  Notre  Dame  of,  317 

Ruby,  virtue  of,  36 

Rudolf  von  Ems,  his  '  Barlaam  und 
Josaphat,'5 

Rumeland,  cited,  metaphors  from 
animals,  136 

Ritmpler,  Angelus,  his  protest 
against  animals  in  churches,  183 

Sabbath,  personified  soul  of  Israel, 
261 

Saetersdal,  Sigurd  saga,  322,  324 

Sagas,  Germanic,  Christian  sym- 
bolism of,  185  ;  Norse  sagas  in 
Scandinavian  churches,  324 

St.  Ambrosius,  in  Milan,  statue  of 
Hercules  slaying  the  Nemean 
lion,  307 

St.  Anna,  her  three  arms,  285  ; 
in  Ileiligenstadt,  Jew  sucking  a 
sow,  297 

St.  Anthony  and  the  centaur,  317 

St.  Aubin,  siren  in  the  cloister  of, 
316 

St.  Aurelia,  in  Bregenz,  statues  of 
Alemannic  gods,  307 

BB 


370 


Index 


Si.  Barbara,  in  Coblence,  relic  of 

Jesus'  fore-skin,  288 
St.  Basil.     See  Basil  the  Great 
Saints'  bones,  queer  anomalies  in, 

284 ;    rectified   by  Prof.    Hyrtl, 

285  ;    power   of   multiplication, 

286 
St.  BotolpJis,  unicorn,  96  ;  musical 

pigs,  232 
St.  Cecilia,  in  Trastevere,  phcenix, 

127 
St.    Clemente,  in    Rome,    Mithras 

worship,  4,  306 
SS.    Cos/na  e  Da7niano,  phoenix, 

127 
St.  Costanza,  in  Rome,  genii  of  the 

vintage,  303 
St.  Croceiii  Gerusalemme,  relics  in, 

288 
St.  Croix,  in   Saint-L6,   weighing 

souls,  330 
St.  Cyprian.     See  Cyprian 
St.   Denis,  abbey  of.    Assumption 

of    the    Virgin    as    Venus,     7  ; 

gospel-mill,    160 ;    in   Amboise, 

foxes  as  pilgrims,  211 
St.    Domitilla,    catacomb,     Christ 

with  nimbus,  301  ;  Orpheus,  303 
St.  Esprit,  St.  Bernard's  ass,  271 
St.  Etienne,  in  Bourges,   lion  and 

pelican,    83  ;   gospel-mill,    160  ; 

in   Limoges,    foxes    as   begging 

friars,  225 
St.  Fiacre,  wiles  of  fox,  206,  208  ; 

"prick  the  fox,"  208,  209 
St.   Francis,    Giotto's   centaur  on 

the  tomb  of,  320 
St.  Callus,  images  broken  by,  307 
St.  George,  his  combat  with  dragon 

borrowed    from    Horus   slaying 

Seth-Typhon,  13  ;  Coptic  relief 

of,     14;    his    anniversary,     15; 

patron  of  Crusaders,  15  ;  analo- 
gous to  Sigurd,  327 
St.    Germain  des   Pris,    statue   of 

Isis,   307 ;  siren,  316 
St.  Gilles,  centaurs  in,  318 


St.  Hildefoitse.     See  Hildefonse 

St.  Isidore.     See  Isidore 

St.  Jacqiies-la-Boiicherie,  Virgin  in 
the  form  of  Venus,  7 

St.  Jaiirin,  in  Evreux,  foxes  as 
friars,  225 

St.  Jean,  in  Lyons,  '  Lay  of  Aris- 
totle,' 228;  revolt  of  angels, 
258 

St.  John  (in  Lyons,  see  St.  Jean), 
feast  of,  69,  264 ;  in  Gmlind, 
centaurs,  318 

St.  Laurence,  in  Nuremberg,  lion, 
82 ;  phoenix,  unicorn,  pelican, 
and  lion,  130 

St.  Lo,  weighing  souls,  330 

St.  Lucia,  Ulysses  and  sirens  in 
the  crypt  of,  315 

St.  Maria,  in  Capua,  eagle  catching 
fish,  118  ;  in  Organo,  image  of 
ass,  271  ;  in  Dantzig,  angels  with 
peacoc!<s'  feathers,  311 

St.  Maria  Novella,  Charon,  310; 
centaurs  pursuing  the  damned, 
320 

St.  Martin,  in  Leicester,  fox 
preaching,  186,  223  ;  near  Trier, 
pagan  altar,  307 

St.  Mary,  in  Beverly,  foxes  as 
friars,  222 ;  in  Dantzig,  Mem- 
ling's  angels  with  peacocks' 
feathers,  311 

St.  Maxiinus.     See  Maximus 

St.  Michael,  in  Pforzheim,  wolf  as 
friar,  193  ;  in  Bruges,  execution 
of  the  fox,  212,  213  ;  archangel 
analogous  to  Sigurd,  327 ;  weigh- 
ing souls,  329,  330 ;  (Michele) 
in  Pavia,  Theseus  slaying  Mino- 
taur, 309 

St.  Nicholas,  in  Stralsund,  lion,  83  ; 
in  Gottingen,  gospel-mill,  157  ; 
in  Calcar,  carvings  of  animals, 
244 ;  in  Zerbst,  Jews  sucking 
sow,  292 ;  in  Anclam,  sirens, 
317;  in  Fribourg,  weighing 
souls,   330 


Index 


371 


St.  JVtzier,  in  Troyes,  apocalyptic 

beast,  156 
St.  Peta-,  his  two  skulls,  286 
St.  Pierre,  in  Aulnay,  ass  as  priest, 

225,    277;    in    Caen,    'Lay   of 

Aristotle,'     228;      in     Poitiers, 

musical     hog    and     dog,    232  ; 

(Pietro),  in  Cora,  haloed  head  of 

Apollo  on  a  font,  307 
St.   Porchaire,   lion's  jaws   typical 

of  hell,  92 
St.  Prassede,  phcenix,  127  ;  list  of 

relics  in,  288 
St.  Redegonde,  unicorn  and  Virgin, 

104 
St.    Saitveur-de-Nevres,     Samson, 

192 
St.  Sebald,  in  Nuremberg,  phoenix, 

unicorn,  pelican,  and  lion,  130 ; 

beasts  as  ministering  spirits,  280 
St.  Sernm,  satire  on  Calvin,  194 
St.  Sophia,  in  Novgorod,  relief  of 

centaurs,  318 
St.    Spire,   devil  over-reached  by 

woman,  333 
St.   Stephen,  in  Vienna,   Samson, 

192 
St.  Theophilus.     See  Theophilus 
St.    Trophine,  in   Aries,    centaurs, 

318  ;  weighing  souls,  330 
St.  Ursin,  in  Bruges,  execution  of 

fox,  212,  213 
St.    Victor,  in    Xanten,    satire   on 

Luther,  194;  carving  of  monster 

typical  of  friars,  224 
St.  Vigean,  eagle  taking  a  fish,  118 
St,  Vitus,  his  four  hands,  286 
Sala?nander,  nature  and  symbolism 

of,  142,  143 
.Salisbury    Cathedral,    carving    of 

eagle  and  child,  234 
Salzburg,  satire  on  Jews,  297 
Samir,  nature  of  its  blood  utilized 

by  Solomon,  42 
Savison,  his  exploits  in    Freiburg 

Minster,     91,     191,     192;     and 

Delilah,  228 


Sapphire,  worn  in  April,  37 ; 
symbolism  of,  38 

Sardius,  symbolism  of,  39 

Sardonyx,  symbolism  of,  39 

Satan,  woman  a  satellite  of,  331, 
333.     See  also  Devil 

Satire,  symbolism  superseded  by, 
185  sqq. ;  on  friars  as  foxes 
and  other  real  or  fabulous  ani- 
mals, 186 — 195,  204,  208—226, 
232 — 245  ;  on  St.  Bernard,  225  ; 
on  Calvin  and  Luther,  194 ;  on 
foibles,  219  ;  on  the  Pope,  195, 
203,  223 ;  on  holy  relics,  281 — 
284,  289 ;  on  tithes  of  eggs, 
240  ;  on  the  Dominicans,  243  ; 
on  Jews,  289 — 299  ;  on  women, 
331 — 333  ;  on  all  classes  and 
conditions  of  men,  335,  339 — 342 

Saturnalia,  Carnival  a  survival  of, 
264 

Satyr,  as  good  shepherd,  301 

Schad,  Oscar,  on  Strasburg  sculp- 
tures,   188 

Schaffhattsai,  relic  of  Joseph's 
breath  in  the  glove  of  Nico- 
demus,  288 

Schellensau,  anti-Semitic  game  of 
cards,  299  note 

Schemhamphoras,  meaning  and  use 
of,  290 

Schongrabern,  relief  of  Samson,  192 

Schott,  on  the  sea-bishop  and  other 
marvels,  199 

SchotteiikircJie  in  Ratisbon,  sirens, 

317 
Schnbert,  G.  H.,  his  views  of  the 

mineral  kingdom,  45 
Sea-bishop  described,  198,  199 
Segura.     See  Lorenzo  de  Segura 
Seinsheim,    Adam   Friedrich   von, 

his  episcopal  escutcheon,  294 
Seitz,  Otto,  his  'Dance  of  Death,' 

342 
Senlis,    chapter  of   the    cathedral 

censures  the  clergy,  267 
Septuagint,  translation  of  ^'chul," 


Zl'^ 


Index 


66  ;  "  like  the  phoenix,"  127  ;  "  as 
a  panther,"  134;  "lair  of  the 
hyena,"  139;  "upon  a  pole," 
250  ;  sirens,  314 
Serpent,  characteristics  and  symbol- 
ism of,  114 — 116;  king  of,  163; 
trampled  by  hart,  223  ;  relief  of, 

Serra,  nature   and  symbolism  of, 

122;  a  sea-dragon,  125 
Seven,  significance  of,  40,  4 1 
Shakespeare,  cited,  198,  254,  305 
Sherborne    Minster,    fox    on    the 

gallows,  212 
Sibyls,  sculptures  of,  309 
Sichem,  in  ass's  litany,  274,  278 
Siegfried  {Sigtird),   his   quiver   of 

panther's  skin,  137  ;  saga,  321 — 

327 

Stenna,  lion,  9 1  ;  relic  of  St.  Vitus, 
286 ;  reliefs  of  creation,  320 

Siponto,  lion,  87 

Siren,  symbolism  of,  154,  243,  314 
—317;  in  art,  315— 317 

Snail,  in  apocalyptic  beast,  157  ; 
as  gonfalonier,  217;  as  vine-de- 
stroyer, 218 

Snake,  Buddhistic  symbol  of  re- 
generation, 32.     See  Serpent 

Sodom,  symbol  of  carnal  seduction, 
67 

Solomon,  his  wisdom,  27 ;  his 
magical  construction  of  the 
Temple,  41 — 43 

Somadcva,  his  allegory  of  human 
life,  5 

Sophocles,  symbolized  by  siren,  315 

South,  sacred  character  of  the,  258, 
259 

S01V,  as  bier-bearer,  189  ;  suckling 
Jews,  290,  292,  295 — 297 

Sphinx,  symbolism  of,  168 

Spider,  Buddhistic  symbol  of  self- 
illusion,  32 

Spire,  origin  of  the  name  Protestant, 
188 

Squirrel,    Buddhistic      symbolism 


of  the,  31  ;  in  Ely  Cathedral, 
223 

Stag,  in  chasuble,  186  ;  chanting 
at  the  altar,  189,  235  ;  reading 
breviary,  244.     See  also  Hart 

Stanley,  reliefs  referring  to  the 
family  of,  234 

Stolle,  Meister,  on  the  lion  and 
ostrich,  94 

Stork,  type  of  filial  piety,  55 

Strabo,  on  the  ichneumon,  132 

Strasburg,  relief  of  lion  and  whelps, 
84;  monk  and  beguine,  187; 
burial  of  fox,  189 

Strieker  (der),  his  ridicule  of  super- 
stition, 44 

Strobel,  cited,  299  note 

'  Stromatens,'  cited,  16 

5/w//^ar/,  relief  of  Samson,  192 

Suetonius,  on  the  remora,  125 

Suger,  Abbot,  description  of  gospel- 
mill,  160 ;  animals  in  churches 
prized,  181 

Stm-worship,  survivals  of  it  in 
Christian  feasts,  69 

Supeistition,  concerning  animals,  S 
— II,  22  ;  precious  stones,  34 — 
40,  44 — 49  ;  concerning  the  uni- 
corn's horn,  105,  107 

^  Suttanipata,'  cited,  33 

Swallow,  symbolism  of  the,  55  ; 
Luther  on  the,  149 

Swan,  symbol  of  Christian  resig- 
nation, 153 

Swine,  daisies  before,  242  ;  playing 
bagpipe,  242.  See  also  Hog 
and  Sow 

Symbolism,  bee  and  flowers  as 
symbols  of  love,  2,  3  ;  Oriental 
source  of,  5 ;  of  human  life,  5  ; 
its  evolution  out  of  metempsy- 
chosis, 7  ;  hybrids  and  monsters 
in  Egyptian,  10 ;  survival  of  the 
fittest  in  Greek,  11  ;  its  degen- 
eracy into  conventional  forms, 
15 ;  gradually  superseded  by 
satire,    18,    19,   185— 191  ;   sue- 


Index 


373 


ceeded  by  scenes  from  the  beast- 
epos  in  religious  polemics,  193 — 
195  ;  of  animals  and  minerals 
(see  the  single  names) 
Syphilis,  miraculously  healed  at 
Grimmenthal,  103  ;  called  ele- 
phantiasis, 201 

Tacitus,  on  Jewish  ass- worship,  270 
Talmud  (the),  on  exegesis,  29  ;  on 

sea-monsters,  123  ;  on  west  and 

east,  257 
Tarragona,  reliefs  in  the  cathedral 

of,  206 
Tau,  signification  of,  67,  248 
Teman,  significance  of,  259 
Terrobuli,  symbolism   of,   49 ;    in 

art,  50;  sculptured  at  Alne,  51 
Tertullian,  his  translation  of  Psalm 

xcii.    12,    127;    his  criterion  of 

truth,  176;  on  the  cross  in  nature, 

247  ;  on  ass-worship,  270 
Testimony,   questionable   value   of 

ocular,  105 
7>/;-a;«o;-///,  symbolism  of,  154;  in 

art,  155,  156 
Thalemarken,  Sigurd  saga,  324 
Tkaun.     See  Philippe  de  Thaun 
Theatre,  decay  of,  263  ;  in  sacred 

rites  and  feasts  of  the  Church, 

264 — 267 
Theobald  of  Plaisance,    poem   on 

beasts,  61 
Theophilus,   allegorical   exposition 

of  creation,  55 
Theophrastus,  pupil  of  Aristotle,  22 
Theseus,  mosaic  of,  309 
Thibault,  the  unicorn  in  his  lyrics, 

108 
Thisbe.     See  Pyramus 
TJwmas  h  Becket,   verse    on    the 

auricular  conception  of  Christ, 99 
Thomas  de  Cantimpri,  his  book  on 

natural  things,  74 
Thomas  of  Celano,  his  hymn  on  the 

Last  Judgment,  331 
Thomasin  von   Zircliire,   on   lions 


and  eagles  as  patterns  for  courts 

and  sovereigns,  93,  120 
Thora,  personification  of  the,  262 
Toledo,    in    Spain,    cathedral    of, 

unicorn  and  Virgin,  96  ;  reliefs 

of  animals  and  the  '  Lay  of  Aris- 
totle,' 226 
Topaz,  virtues  of,  36 
Tory,  Geoffroy,  Death  in  his  '  Book 

of  Hours, '  338 
Totdeuse,  satire  on  Calvin,  194 
Tournay,   tomb  of  Childeric  III. 

at,  4 
lours,    cathedral     of,     lion     and 

phoenix,  83  ;  Council  of,  263 
Trefoil,  not  permissible  to  heretics, 

256 
Trier,     '  Evangeliarium '     in     the 

Cathedral  Library  of,  156  ;  Holy 

Coat  at,  287  ;  pagan  altar  in  St. 

Martin's,  near,  307 
Trinity,  Egyptian  symbol  of,  14 ; 

symbolized  by  three  hares,  239  ; 

influence  of  the  doctrine  on  art, 

252;  vestigesof  it  in  the  material 

world,  252 — 254 
THvium,  personification  of,  154 
Troyes,  apocalyptic  beasts  in,  156, 

157 

Tryggvason,  King  Olaf,  his  con- 
version, 326 

Turiu,  frog  as  symbol  of  the  Resur- 
rection, 238 

Tjirquaise,  worn  in  December,  37 

Turtle-dove,  symbol  of  constancy, 
147,  148 

Tuscany,  lions  in  the  churches  of, 

91 

Typhon  {Seth-),  demon  of  sterility 
and  death,  14 ;  reliefs  of  Horus 
slaying,  13  ;  weighing  souls,  329 

Uhland,  hunting-song  in  his  col- 
lection, 108 
Ulysses,  in  Christian  art,  315 
Unicorn,  symbol  of  cruel  persons, 
73 ;    Christ's    Incarnation,    84, 


374 


Index 


85,  95 — no;  in  art,  96 — 105, 
130;  superstitious  notions  con- 
cerning its  horn,  105 — 107  ;  sig- 
nifies also  Satan,  109 ;  mounted 
by  Chastity,  153 ;  in  poetry, 
99,  107,  108,  no;  enmity  to  the 
elephant  and  likeness  to  the  he- 
goat,  109  ;  description  of,  1 10 
Urim  and  Tkummbn^  signification 
and  use  of,  34 


Valkyrias,  conductors  of  souls,  315  ; 

in  the  Sigurd  saga,  321,  325 
Vasishtha,  invocation  of  frogs  in 

the  Veda,  238 
Vatopedi,  tetramorph  in  the  monas- 
tery of,  155 
Vaughan,  Rev.  J.  S. ,  his  discovery 

of  vestiges  of  the  Trinity  in  the 

material  world,  252 — 254 
Vegusdal,  Sigurd  saga,  324 
Velay,  personification  of  sciences, 

154  ;  weighing  souls  in  a  church 

at,  328 
Venus,  fish  sacred  to,  121 
Vergil,  as  a  prophet  of  Christ,  266  ; 

legend  of  his  love  adventure  in 

sculpture,  229  ;  met  by  centaurs 

in  the  lower  world,  320 
Verona,  image  and  tradition  of  the 

"true"  ass,  271 
Vezelai,  gospel-mill,  158  ;  fighting 

the     basilisk,    165,     166,    168 ; 

weighing  souls,  328 
Viettna,    griffin's    claw    at,     106 ; 

unicorn  and  Virgin  symbolizing 

the  triumph  of  chastity,    105  ; 

Samson,  192 
Villegas,  Estevan   Mattuel  de,  his 

description  of  a  duel  between 

Amor  and  a  bee,  2 
Villeneuve,  Chdtcau  de,  devils  and 

angels    forging     the    heads    of 

woman  and  man,  333 
Villette,   Claude,  his  symbolism  of 

church  windows,  260 


Villon,  Francois,  on  pictures  for 
instructing  the  ignorant,  183 

Vincent  de  Beauvais,  his  '  Specu- 
lum Naturale,'  74 ;  on  Pope 
Alexander's  tunic  of  salamander 
skins,  142 

Viollei'le-Duc,  on  jollities  in 
churches,  280 

Viper,  copulation  with  the  lamprey, 
55  ;  symbol  of  sin,  66  ;  horn  of 
African  viper,  109 

Virgin  of  the  Seven  Stvords  de- 
rived from  Istar,  6  ;  imitation  of 
Venus,  7 ;  Coptic  Virgin  and 
Child  an  imitation  of  Isis  and 
Horus,  13  ;  Virgin  and  unicorn, 
95 — 105  ;  as  a  crystal  vessel, 
164 ;  relics  of  her  three  arms, 
286 

Virtues,  personification  of  the  seven, 
163 

Vischer,  Peter,  reliefs  of  birdlike 
virgins  on  his  candelabra,  317 

Vishnu  as  Krishna,  4 

Vogelweide.  See  Walther  von  der  V. 

Voragine,  Jacobus  de,  his  '  Golden 
Legend,'  5 ;  on  the  cross  in 
nature,  247 

Vulgate,  capitals  and  initials  in 
codex  of  the,  152;  version  of 
Proverbs  xxx.  27  and  Eccl.  xii. 
5,  166;  cited,  192;  version  of 
Zech.  vi.  12,  257  note 

Vulture,  eutokios  used  by,  48 ; 
Egyptian  type  of  compassion,  128 

Wachs7nut  von  Miihlhausen,  imag- 
ery from  the  self-renewal  of  the 
eagle,  120 

Wake,  Johannes,  rebus  of  crowing 
cock,  220,  222 

Walther  von  der  Vogelweide,  on 
auricular  conception,  99 

Water-snake,  confounded  with  the 
otter,  132 

Weasel,  as  slayer  of  serpents,  55 
note 


Index 


375 


WeM,  Boijamin,  heretical  desecra- 
tion of  sacred  symbols  denounced 
by,  256 

Weerth,  Ernst  aus' m,  on  belling  the 
cat,  243 

Wcighhtg  souls,  represented  in 
church  architecture,  328 — 331  ; 
in  Indian  mythology,  331  ;  prom- 
inence of  women  in  these  deline- 
ations, 331 

Weimar,  paintings  of  unicorn  and 
Virgin  at,  98 — 102  ;  griffin's 
claws,  106 

Wenzel,  his  copper-plate  of  the 
papal  ass,  202 

West,  twofold  signification  of  the, 

257 

Whale,  Jonah's,  84  ;  two  character- 
istics of  the,  122,  123;  in  archi- 
tecture, 124  ;  at  Alne,  51,  124 

Whitsuntide,  a  solar  feast,  69 

William,  Abbot  of  St.  Thierry, 
St.  Bernard's  letter  to  him  cen- 
suring monstrosities  in  churches, 
180 

William  of  Normandy,  '  Le  Bes- 
tiaire  Divin,'  date  of,  72  ;  on  the 
owl,  78 ;  on  the  unicorn,  96, 
109  ;  on  the  panther,  137 

Wimpfen  im  Thai,  Jew  sucking 
sow  at,  297 

Winchester  Cathedral,  satirical  carv- 
ings in,  224 

Wittetiberg,  Jews  sucking  a  sow 
and  prying  into  the  Talmud,  in 
parish  church  of,  289 — 291 

Witton,  rebus,  222 

'  Woes  of  France,^  poem,  204 

Wolf,  peculiarities  of,  150,  151  ; 
with  crucifix,  188  ;  novitiate  of, 
190  ;  as  preaching  friar,  193 

Wolfram  von  Eschenbach,  simile  of 
lion's  whelps,  92 ;  on  the  medi- 


cinal and  moral  virtues  of  the 
unicorn's  heart  and  horn,  107 

Woman,  as  Satan's  ally,  331 — 333 

Wood-carvings,  comical  and  gro- 
tesque, 216 — 219 

Worcester  Cathedral,  foxes  in 
kennels  and  cowls,  210 

Word  (the).  Gnostic  theory  of,  98  ; 
incarnate  through  the  ear  and 
its  representation  in  art,  99,  100 

Worms,  tetramorph  at,  155 ;  in- 
scription to  two  self-sacrificing 
Jews,  300 

Wiirzburg,  incarnation  of  the  Word 
through  the  ear  in  the  cathedral 
of,  99  ;  swine  on  escutcheon  of 
Prince  Bishop  of,  294 

Wright,  his  edition  of  an  English 
bestiary,  62  ;  his  translation  of 
Philippe  de  Thaun,  71 

Xanten,  St.  Victor's  Church,  satire 
on  Luther,  194  ;  monster  symbol- 
izing begging  friars,  224 

Yama,  the  fate  of  the  soul  decided 
by,  331 

Yggdrasil,  252 

Yudhishthira,      accompanied      to 

heaven  by  his  dog,  91 
Yiipa,  sacred  to  Parsis,  252 

Zappi,  Felice,  Cupids  as  bees  in  his 

poem,  2 
Zerbst,   sow  suckling  Jews  in  St. 

Nicholas  of,  292 
Zircldre.     See  Thomasin  von  Z. 
Zoolatry,  universality  of,  10 
Zorgi,     Bertolome,    his     lady-love 

compared  to  the  serpent,  Ii5 
Zurich,    centaurs    in    the   minster 

cloister,  319 
Ziveter.     See  Reinmar  von  Ziveter 


Richard  Clay  &=  Sons,  Limited,  London  &'  Bungay, 


